Gang stealing batteries of cars, trucks busted in Delhi, 5 held

Five members of a gang involved in stealing batteries from cars and trucks have been arrested, police said on Sunday.

An officer said that 85 stolen batteries were recovered from their possession, leading to the detection of at least five theft cases registered across Delhi.

Akash (30) and Ayush (25) — both residents of Kabir Nagar and active thieves — along with two receivers, Amzad (40) and Wasim (38), and a scrap dealer, Mohammad Fazluddin (51) have been arrested, they said.

According to the police, the breakthrough came after two men, who arrived on an autorickshaw, were caught stealing a car battery in Kalyanpuri on October 14. A case was registered, and CCTV footage helped identify the autorickshaw used in the theft.

Based on further inputs, the team apprehended Akash and Ayush and recovered five stolen batteries. On their disclosure, the two receivers and the scrap dealer were nabbed, and a raid at a godown in Johripur led to the recovery of 80 more stolen batteries.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused targeted vehicles parked in isolated or poorly lit areas, usually late at night or early morning, and sold the stolen batteries to scrap dealers at cheap rates for quick cash.

Akash and Ayush, both school passouts, have multiple past theft cases registered against them, eight and 28, respectively, the police said.

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Efforts are underway to link more unsolved cases to the recovered batteries and identify other buyers in the network, they said.