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PhD scholar, friend steal 300 cars such as Fortuner, Scorpio, Creta worth other 30 Cr: BUSTED

With the cars evolving and offering much better security and safety, the thieves are evolving too. Delhi Police has busted interstate automobile lifters made up of two highly educated persons – a PhD scholar and a former Delhi University student. The cops have recovered as many as 12 expensive cars from Manipur.

PhD scholar, friend steal 300 cars such as Fortuner, Scorpio, Creta worth other 30 Cr: BUSTED

Two thieves identified as Mehtab, who is a PhD and also passed the National Eligibility Test. He is eligible for lectureship in a college or a junior research position with such a qualification. His fellow gang member identified as Tadrish is also a graduate from a top Delhi University college. He also did a post-graduate from Aligarh Muslim University.

The cops were working on information for a long time that the gang is active in Delhi-NCR and is targeting expensive vehicles. After an operation by East Delhi Police, the duo was finally nabbed.

Came from Manipur to steal

PhD scholar, friend steal 300 cars such as Fortuner, Scorpio, Creta worth other 30 Cr: BUSTED

Both of them and many others in their team come from Manipur and they came to Delhi by flight to steal cars and expensive motorcycles. They used to drive these vehicles to Imphal by themselves. In all these years, they have managed to steal around 300 vehicles.

Since they are educated and know their way around, both of them tampered with the chassis number of the cars and also made forged documents with the help of others members. They re-registered the vehicles using the fake chassis number and used to sell them to the locals in Manipur.

During the interrogation, the duo said that they have even sold the vehicles to a few insurgent groups that are active in Manipur. The cops have started investigating the matter and have said that the role of transport authorities will be investigated too.

PhD scholar, friend steal 300 cars such as Fortuner, Scorpio, Creta worth other 30 Cr: BUSTED

The police teams carried out raids in various locations in Manipur to catch the gang. The Delhi Police team collaborated with the Manipur Police to nab the criminals. While the cops are yet to hand reveal all the models that they have recovered during the raid. However, the picture that they have uploaded shows the new Fortuner, Creta, Scorpio, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and many other vehicles. More vehicles are expected to get seized in the coming weeks.

High-tech thieves

The tech-savvy thieves Mehtab and Tadrish started using GPS detectors to locate and disable and any tracking device in the vehicle. Since most modern cars get inbuilt GPS trackers and many others who are aware of such devices install them in the vehicle to keep them safe. However, the thieves use specialised trackers to locate any such devices and remove them.

Mehtab and Tadrish were in charge of stealing the vehicles and driving them to Imphal, Manipur. Other members in the gang used high-tech devices to change the chassis number of the vehicle.

Shantonil Nag

Shantonil brings a refined blend of expertise and enthusiasm to motoring journalism at Cartoq.com. With a career spanning over 11 years, he anchors Cartoq's insightful car reviews and test drives. His journalistic journey began as a correspondent at Gaadi.com, where he honed his skills in content writing and scripting car reviews. Later, as Senior Editor for Autoportal.com, his expanded role included curating and structuring web content. At Cartoq.com, his expanded role includes assisting the video team to create high-quality car reviews. (Full bio)