Thane, Jun 15 (PTI) Kasarvadavali Police in the city on Monday claimed to have busted a sophisticated gang of thieves which targeted high-end two-wheelers with the arrest of three men.
The police solved eight recent motorcycle theft cases and recovered stolen vehicles worth about Rs 9 lakh, said Deputy Commissioner of Police Prashant Kadam.
The gang had stolen several Royal Enfield Hunter Bullets and Suzuki Burgman bikes parked on roadsides in Hiranandani Estate area over the last two months, he said.
A special team from the Kasarvadavali Police Station was formed to investigate the thefts, the DCP said.
Police officer Manoj Sakpal received a tip-off on May 7 that a stolen Suzuki Burgman was being brought to Santacruz, Mumbai, for resale. The police laid a trap and arrested Sohail Abdul Sheikh (21), DCP Kadam said.
Interrogation revealed that the mastermind of these thefts was Milind Manohar Sawant (30), he said.
Sub-inspector Nitin Hange arrested Sawant in Dahisar on June 9, which was followed by the arrest of his alleged accomplice Bhushan Digambar Puri (alias Ram Goswami) (46) from a hostel in Nallasopara.
Sawant had more than 70 cases of motorcycle thefts registered against him across Mumbai and Thane, the DCP said.
After spotting a Hunter Bullet or Suzuki Burgman without a handle lock, the accused would push it for a short distance, cut the main ignition switch wire, bypass the system using an electric fuse, and ride away.
The stolen bikes were parked near Mira Road railway station for three to four days. If no one came looking for them, the gang would use Car Trade Exchange platform to find legal vehicles matching the description of stolen bikes. They then used the government’s mParivahan app to access the legitimate owner’s RC book data and generated fake registration plates, Kadam said.
The stolen bikes were then sold on online marketplaces. Bullets were sold for Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh, while Burgmans went for Rs 70,000 to Rs 80,000.
The buyers were promised that the official registration transfer would take a few days. Once the cash changed hands, the gang deactivated their SIM cards, leaving the buyers with vehicles with fake documents.
Two-wheeler owners must turn the handle lock on while parking, the police appealed. Further, bikes should be parked in authorized spaces, and owners should invest in secondary security systems like disc locks or GPS trackers, officials said. PTI COR KRK
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