Lakadganj police seize 12 two-wheelers stolen by the three members of the gang.
Nagpur: In a major breakthrough, Lakadganj police busted a gang of vehicle lifters and arrested three of its members. The cops have so far seized 12 two-wheelers of different brands and have not ruled out seizing more. Significantly, a mechanic-cum-auto dealer has emerged the mastermind of the gang and sold the stolen vehicles in a well-planned modus operandi.
The breakthrough was achieved when a woman named Chhaya Jageshwar Patre (45), resident of Vyankoba Mule Road, tenant of Adv Mohadikar, Lakadganj area, lodged a complaint on 14.3.2016 telling the cops that her Maestro moped (MH-49/M 2098), parked in front of her house, was stolen between 11 pm of 13.3.2016 and 6 am of 14.3.2016. Subsequently, Lakadganj police launched an investigation into the vehicle theft. During investigation, acting on a tip-off, police detained a suspect named Shahjad Alam Raseul Rehman (25) of Satranjipura. After a sustained questioning, the accused Shahjad Alam confessed stealing the Maestro moped (MH-49/M 2098) worth Rs 15,000 and selling it to the mechanic-cum-auto dealer Sanjay Shankarrao Galwale (42) of Bajeria Loharpura. Thereafter, the accused Sanjay Galwale too arrested. The arrest of Shahjad and Sanjay lead to arrested third member of the gang named Mohd Israel Mohd Jumman (20), originally hailing from Uttar Pradesh but now staying near Haj House, Lodhipura.
Lakadganj cops obtained Police Custody Remand (PCR) of the arrested trio and subjected them to an intense questioning. The questioning revealed that the mechanic-cum-auto dealer Sanjay Galwale is the mastermind who formed the gang of vehicle lifters and sold the stolen stuff by way of a shrewd modus operandi. Sanjay used to purchase scrapped two-wheelers from ICICI Lombard Insurance Company. After purchasing the scrap vehicles, the accused Sanjay used to print the registered Engine No. and Chassis No. of the stolen vehicles on the scrapped vehicles bought from ICICI Lombard Insurance Company. Sanjay then used to change the number plate registration numbers of scrap vehicles with the stolen vehicles. This dubious way, the accused mechanic-cum-auto dealer Sanjay Shankarrao Galwale used to turn the stolen two-wheelers into “authorized vehicles.” Later, these vehicles were used to be sold to the prospective customers. After the expose, cops have seized a chassis number punching machine, welding machine and a cutter machine as well as vital documents ostensibly used in the changing affairs from the possession of arrested accused Sanjay Galwale.
After busting the gang, the Lakadganj police have so far seized 12 two-wheelers of different brands stolen from various jurisdictions. These are:
- Maestro moped (MH-49/M 2098).
- Honda Activa (MH-49/K 4326).
- Jupiter (MH-49/Q 0646).
- Hero Pleasure (MH-31/DL 1905)
- Honda Activa (MH-49/S 3757)
- Splendour Plus (MH-31/BD 2814)
- Star City (MH-40/AN 1572)
- Bajaj Caliber (MH-31/AE 1693)
- Splendour Plus (MH-31/BA 3418)
- TVS Scooty ES (MH-31/BK 514)
- TVS Apache (MH-31/SN 8213)
- Super Splendour (MH-36/G 1321)
Even though 12 two-wheelers have so far seized, cops have not ruled out seizing more vehicles as the investigation progresses.
The breakthrough was shared with media persons during a press conference addressed by Senior PI S B Mane here on Monday. The operation was carried out by API S D Nikam, API Rajendra Baghel, Nayak Police Constables Manoj Neware, Naresh Badhel, Shyam Anguthlewar, Pravin Ganar under the guidance of ACP (Lakadganj) N M Pande.
