Car thieves

“The third was stolen from Mianwali Nagar on June 4. He has confessed that they steal Fortuner cars because the demand for this car in the North Eastern states is very high.”

In one of the Whatsapp audio messages that the police found on Mohammed’s phone, he can be heard telling a contact that he was confident of making at least Rs 3 lakh in this Delhi trip.

Depending upon its condition and how old the SUV is, a stolen Fortuner could earn the gang up approximately Rs 9 lakh, said sources. Investigators said they are preparing a list of Fortuners that were stolen in Delhi between June 2 and June 4, and will probe if Ravi and his accomplices were involved in these thefts. “The availability of CCTV cameras footage will be an added advantage in identifying the suspects in those cases,” said the officer.

So far, the police investigation has revealed that Mohammed and Ravi’s allegedly interstate syndicate targeted high-end SUVS such as the Fortuner, in the national capital region (NCR). After stealing the SUV, the gang would park it overnight at an isolated place, often close to border areas in Delhi. A parking slip found from Mohammed’s pocket shows the vehicle they’d stolen had been parked in an authorised parking lot on June 3. Then, early in the morning, the car would be driven out of the city for the sale.

Deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) Nupur Prasad did not confirm the number of Fortuners stolen, but said that Ravi had confessed to having stolen more SUVS. “We are trying to connect the vehicle theft reported with Ravi and his associates. The arrest of his associates is crucial.” Jaitley wrote in a Facebook post, “Every time I listen to the view of Shri Rahul Gandhi, both inside and outside Parliament, I ask myself the same question – How much does he know? When will he know?” He raised questions about whether Gandhi is “inadequately briefed” or “a little too liberal with his facts”.

BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal said farmers were not in debt in the state because of pro-farmer policies. “We have spent Rs 20,000 crore on giving financial aid to farmers in one year, and we give loans at minus 10%. Only 24% of the farmers have defaulted on loans and for them too, we have given interest waiver and have come out with one time settlement policy,” Agrawal said.

The Congress’s state president Kamal Nath and campaign committee chairman Jyotiradiya Scindia also attacked the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government. “The youth want work, but this government has failed to bring industries,” Nath said.

Scindia alleged that the state’s Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana, which pays farmers the difference between MSP and marketing prices, had failed. He said the Bjp-ruled government in the state had blood on its hands and promised swift justice to the families of those killed last year.