Noida: Inter-state vehicle lifters gang busted

Noida: An inter-state gang allegedly involved in carjacking Maruti Suzuki Eeco vans from Delhi-national capital region for the last 10 years, was arrested on Monday as police managed to trace them with the help of a shoe captured in a CCTV footage, officers said.

Police identified the suspects as Dinesh Chauhan, 38, from Sambhal and resident of Bisrakh; Vasim Rizvi, 35, a resident of Bareilly; and Akib, 35, a resident of Sambhal.

The suspect, Dinesh, used to approach the spot using an online transportation service and lift vehicles using master keys and other equipment, and later sell the vans to an acquaintance, who then sold it to a scrap dealer. The gang targeted only Eeco vans as these could be opened easily for not having an automatic lock, police said.

“On March 23, we received a complaint from Imran, a resident of Ghaziabad, that his parked van was lifted from Sector 55 on March 16. A case under the BNS section for theft was registered, and a team was set up to nab the suspects,” said Sector 58 SHO Amit Kumar.

In the area’s footage, police noticed a suspect wearing a white sport shoe. Later, a man (Dinesh) wearing the same shoe was spotted while riding a bike taxi in Sector 55 and nabbed. His questioning led to the arrest of his two other aides, said a sub-inspector Sudhir Kumar, police outpost in-charge of Sector 56.

Police have recovered two Eco vans and engine and other parts of a third van, and lodged under the BNS sections for theft, stolen property, cheating, forgery, and forged electronic documents and is further probing.