Delhi Police busts interstate car theft racket; three arrested

Delhi Police has busted an interstate racket involved in stealing cars and selling them through a network of receivers, and arrested three persons involved with it, officials said on Monday.

Police have seized five stolen vehicles, 104 forged number plates and 24 fake registration certificates from their possession, a senior officer said.

The gang leader, Amit Nagar (35), was arrested after provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) were invoked in the case, he said.

The two arrested accused have been identified as Atom Jagat Singh (45) and Potsangbam Mukesh Singh (28), both residents of Imphal in Manipur.

“Mukesh Singh and Jagat Singh purchased stolen vehicles from Amit Nagar, arranged forged registration documents and resold the cars at a profit,” the officer said.

The Crime Branch of Delhi Police analysed CCTV camera footage of vehicle thefts, examined crime scenes and developed intelligence through local sources before zeroing in on the accused, police said.

On May 12, Mukesh was arrested in Chhatarpur. A search of his rented premises led to the seizure of 104 forged high-security registration plates and 22 forged registration certificates, police said.

A stolen car was recovered from Wazirabad at his instance, the officer said.

Jagat Singh was arrested on May 14, and he led police to another stolen car in Mukherjee Nagar. Nagar was arrested on July 28, and a stolen car was recovered at his instance.

During the probe, the investigators found that the accused allegedly supplied the stolen vehicles to their associates in Manipur, Rajasthan, Punjab, Assam and West Bengal.

Two more vehicles – a Kia Seltos and a Hyundai Creta – were recovered from Manipur’s Ukhrul district located near the Myanmar border on August 13 at the instance of Jagat Singh.

Police said the vehicles, which were stolen from Delhi, were intended to be sold to underground groups operating in the India-Myanmar border region.

According to police, Nagar admitted that he had been stealing cars since 2009-10 and had supplied more than 100 stolen vehicles to receivers in different states.

The gang used electronic gadgets and computer-based scanning devices to bypass vehicle security systems and generate duplicate keys.

Forged number plates and registration certificates were then used to facilitate the movement and disposal of the stolen vehicles.

Police said the accused also used encrypted messaging platforms and pre-activated SIM cards to communicate and evade detection.