Cops bust gang of vehicle thieves
NEW DELHI: With the arrest of a dance teacher, his student and their associate and recovery of 23 stolen motorcycles and scooters from their possession, a gang of dancers-turned-vehicle thieves has been busted by the Delhi Police.
Police said the arrested men used to steal motorcycles in Delhi on demand and sell them to their receivers in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. They have allegedly stolen more than 100 motorcycles in the last couple of months. A total of 19 cases were solved with their arrest, the police said.
Police identified the arrested accused as Shubham alias Dancer,22, his student, Suraj alias Yuvi, and Deepak aka Bunty,26. Shubham and Suraj were arrested on January 15 while they were riding a stolen Yahama FZ motorcycle towards Tughlaqabad. Their questioning led to the arrest of Deepak from Ghaziabad on Saturday.
While Shubham and Suraj used to steal bikes, Deepak used to help them in selling the stolen motorcycles to various receivers of stolen properties in Meerut.
They also used to sell the spare parts of the dismantled bikes in the grey market, the police said.
Deputy commissioner of police (southeast), Chinmoy Biswal, said Shubham, who hails from Saharanpur, is the mastermind of the gang and that he came to Delhi around four years ago to become a dancer. Around a year ago, Shubham started his own dance academy — Muskan Dance Academy — in south Delhi’s Pul Prahladpur.
“Shubham opened the academy in the name of his girlfriend. However, he was not earning enough to make ends meet. A few month ago, Shubham met Deepak, who was earlier arrested in an auto lifting case, and he lured him to join him in the crime. In order to earn quick money, Shubham started stealing bikes with Deepak and they used to sell these in Meerut,” said the DCP.
The police said that as Deepak mostly stayed in Meerut to dispose of the stolen bikes, Shubham needed a new partner to steal bikes. That is when he allegedly roped in Suraj, who used to learn dance from him at the academy.
“Shubham knew Suraj had financial problems, and because of that, he was not able to pay the fees at the academy. He lured Suraj to join him in the crime by saying that by becoming his partner, he can continue his passion for dance and earn money as well,” said a police officer privy to the details of the case.
DCP Biswal said Shubham left studies after Class 11 and came to Delhi to pursue a career in dancing. He was passionate about dancing and used to perform in various private events. Shubham used to make videos of his dance and uploaded them on social media. His friends used to call him ‘Dancer’, he said.