Auto-lifter gang busted, three members in police dragnet

The Delhi Police claimed to have busted an auto-lifter gang that used a sophisticated key programming tool for stealing cars in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, officials said on Wednesday.

The police arrested three accused, who are part of notorious Mehtab-Sameem Pilla gang, and recovered four stolen vehicles and country-made pistols from their possession.

DCP (Outer North) Nidhin Valsan said: “Our team had been tracking this gang for the past month. On the night of January 29, we received a tip-off that gang leader Mehtab and his associates will be in the Narela Industrial Area to commit auto theft. Acting on the information, a police team laid a trap and apprehended Mehtab and his associate Faizal.”

The police recovered two country-made pistols and live cartridges from them. “Mehtab was carrying a loaded pistol and was always prepared to use it in case of an encounter or resistance,” the DCP said.

The gang used advanced tools like scanners and Autel key programming machines to bypass security systems and steal cars. The accused targeted specific vehicles in demand and switched off their mobile phones to evade tracking, another official said.

During interrogation, Mehtab revealed that in the past few months, the gang had stolen over 50 cars and delivered them to a receiver in Meerut.

“They used to sell each stolen car for Rs 1-1.5 lakh, and their associates were paid Rs 15,000-Rs 20,000 per theft,” the officer stated.

Following their arrests, the police obtained a seven-day custody remand for Mehtab and Faisal. During interrogation, the police got leads and conducted raids in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh.

Based on these inputs, the police arrested another accused, Shahjaan, and recovered one more stolen car.

In total, four stolen vehicles, including a Swift Breeza, a Swift Dzire, a Maruti Eeco and a Maruti Alto K-10, were recovered. “These vehicles had fake number plates and tampered chassis numbers,” officials added.

Mehtab (30) has 36 cases registered against him, including auto theft, Arms Act and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act violations, and was first arrested in 2014. Faisal (36), who was involved in six cases of auto theft and burglary, assisted in decoding keys for Rs 15,000-20,000 per theft. Shahjaan (32) was a driver by profession, who used to earn Rs 5,000 per night for assisting in vehicle thefts.

“Two cases have been directly linked so far — one from the Welcome police station and another from Adarsh Nagar,” DCP Valsan said.