Palghar, Sep 14 (PTI) An abandoned car helped the police identify and nab a man, who was allegedly involved in theft of several vehicles and other offences in Maharashtra’s Palghar, as their investigation revealed that the accused had stolen that car but left it midway after it met with a road accident, an official said.
The police said the man had suffered injuries in the road accident involving that car and later received treatment at a local hospital, he said.
The accused, Shadab alias Baba alias Naushad Sheikh (23), a resident of Kurla in Mumbai, was nabbed on Tuesday as the hospital records helped the police trace him, he said.
Following his arrest, it came to light that he was involved in several cases of vehicle thefts in 2023, the crime branch official said.
“In the wake of several incidents of vehicle theft within Achole police station limits in Palghar, the crime branch officials began working on various leads and examined the CCTV footage. During the probe, the police came across a stolen car abandoned in Sriram Nagar area of Nalasopara due to an accident,” senior inspector Sahuraj Ranavare of the Crime Unit-II in Vasai said.
The police worked on the lead and tried to trace the driver of the car as they believed that he must have suffered injuries in the accident. The police then checked with the nearby hospitals to fin out if anyone with head injuries in car accident was treated there, he said.
The police probe revealed that the accused had undergone treatment at Sai Hospital. After that, the police traced him and arrested him, the official said.
“During his interrogation, it came to light that he was involved in 14 offences in Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar police commissionerate limits, including 11 cases of vehicle theft, and three cases in Mumbai. The offences had occurred in Achole, Pelhar, Valiv, Manickpur, Vasai, Arnala Sagri, and Wadala, Vanrai and Goregaon of Mumbai,” he added.
The police have recovered 12 two-wheelers, two four-wheelers, four mobile phones, one device for preparing duplicate keys, collectively worth Rs 5,94,500 the official said.
Apart from these offences, seven more cases are registered against the accused in Mumbai, he said. PTI COR NP
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