Delhi Police bust inter-state syndicate of car thieves, arrest 4 Punjab men

The Delhi Police have busted an inter-state network involved in the sale and purchase of stolen vehicles, recovered 21 such cars and arrested four Punjab-based receivers, an official said on Tuesday.

The accused have been identified as Avtar Singh alias Sunny Arora (40), Harpreet Singh alias Hunny (32), Paramdeep alias Lotey (42) and Manpreet alias Bau (29), all natives of Punjab, she said.

"The gang would purchase stolen vehicles from auto lifters at low rates, forge the chassis and engine numbers, fabricate the registration documents and resell the cars as legitimate," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Apoorva Gupta said.

The gang was active in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and other states, and had developed a network to transport and dispose of stolen vehicles, she said.

Acting on a tip-off, police laid a trap near the DND Flyway on May 7 and intercepted a blue Maruti Baleno car with a fake number plate. The car, reportedly stolen from Saket, was found to have a forged registration certificate. The occupants of the vehicle, Avtar Singh and Harpreet Singh, were arrested on the spot, the DCP said.

Further interrogation led police to conduct raids in Amritsar, Ludhiana and Ferozepur, resulting in the arrest of Paramdeep and Manpreet.

Initial investigations suggest that the gang preferred vehicles priced under Rs 5 lakh and targeted buyers in Punjab's border districts to avoid scrutiny.

Avtar Singh, previously a property dealer-turned vegetable vendor in Amritsar, has four theft cases against him and was arrested earlier in Punjab. His associate, Harpreet Singh, holds a BCA degree and previously worked in Cyprus.

Paramdeep, a former auto-parts factory owner, and Manpreet, a civil engineer by qualification, also turned to crime due to personal or financial setbacks, the DCP added.

"A total of 21 stolen luxury cars, including models such as Fortuner, Thar, Creta, Harrier and Baleno, bearing forged number plates and fake registration documents, were recovered during the operation," the officer said.