Gang of car thieves busted in Jalandhar, kingpin held

JALANDHAR: The Commissionerate police on Tuesday busted an interstate gang of thieves involved in the sale of stolen cars in Jammu and Kashmir here with the arrest of the kingpin of the gang.

Parveen Kumar Sinha, commissioner of police, said a team, led by ADCP-1 Mandeep Singh and ACP Navneet Singh Mahal (north), nabbed Shabeer Ahmed of Jammu and Kashmir, from Bhindora village in Jammu with the assistance of the local police. He is the kingpin of the gang. Four cars and duplicate keys, among other tools to steal a car, were recovered from his possession.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the gang had stolen cars from Jalandhar and later sold them to their associates in Jammu and Kashmir. After stealing the cars, they took them to Jammu and Kashmir after changing the number plates of the vehicles, said CP Sinha.

“This gang mostly targeted Maruti Swift, Ertiga and Alto cars. Most cars have the advanced and smart locking system. The gang used to steal the cars after cracking the smart lock code,” Sinha said.

He said they also made duplicate documents of the stolen cars. Sinha said eight more stolen cars may be recovered from him and the gang’s three other members will be nabbed soon. A case under Sections 379, 411, 482 of the IPC has been registered against Shabeer Ahmed.