Inter-state vehicle theft syndicate busted

Delhi Police has dismantled an inter-state motor vehicle theft syndicate with the arrest of three alleged members and recovery of 16 high-end stolen vehicles, an official said on Sunday.

The case originated from the theft of an SUV (Hyundai Creta) from Delhi’s Pitampura on August 5. An e-FIR was registered and the matter was transferred to the Crime Branch on September 5 last year.

A breakthrough came on December 24 when a team received information about a person from Jalandhar (Punjab) who allegedly received stolen vehicles, police said. The informer disclosed that several stolen vehicles from Delhi, including the SUV involved in the case, were allegedly in his possession. On December 25, a team conducted a raid in Jalandhar and apprehended Damandeep Singh alias Lucky (42), who was allegedly running a second-hand car sale and purchase business. During the search of his premises, four Kia Seltos vehicles were allegedly recovered and later confirmed to have been stolen from Delhi.

Subsequent investigation revealed that Singh was allegedly the mastermind of a well-organised inter-state syndicate involved in vehicle theft, forgery and resale. The gang procured stolen vehicles as well as loan-default vehicles from Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) and transported them to Punjab, according to the police.

“During interrogation, Singh disclosed that several stolen vehicles with fake registration numbers were sold in Delhi through Amandeep Singh, a resident of Pitampura,” the officer said.