The Panvel City Police has arrested an auto-rickshaw driver who stole auto rickshaws, drove them to his hometown with a forged notarised document to show that the auto was declared as scrap and sold to others. The accused, identified as Nisar Sattar Khan (36), a resident of Kachchi Mohalla, Panvel, was arrested following a late-night police patrol and a 4-km chase assisted by the police. With the arrest of the accused, police recovered 18 stolen vehicles worth approximately Rs 12.45 lakh.
Due to a spike in auto-rickshaw thefts across Panvel, Kalamboli and Kamothe, senior police officials had directed the Crime Detection Team to intensify their investigations. Using CCTV footage analysis, informers and technical tracking, the police identified a suspect.
On February 10, during a routine night patrol, officers from the Panvel City Police Station spotted Khan, whose appearance matched the suspect seen in CCTV footage. Upon questioning, he confessed to stealing an auto rickshaw and later in further interrogation, admitted to stealing 18 auto-rickshaws over the past year.
Following Khan’s confession, a police team was dispatched to Mehkar, Buldhana, where the stolen vehicles had been sold. With the help of local police, the team recovered 18 stolen auto-rickshaws, linking them to multiple pending cases. Ten vehicles were connected to Panvel City Police Station cases, four to Kalamboli Police Station, and three to Kamothe Police Station, while one vehicle’s details are yet to be confirmed due to tampered engine and chassis numbers.
“This operation helped us solve 17 auto-rickshaw theft cases across the three police jurisdictions,” Deputy Commissioner of police (zone II) Prashant Mohite, said.
The investigation was carried out under the leadership of Senior Police Inspector Nitin Thakare, Police Inspector Shakir Patel, and Police Inspector Abhijit Abhang. The operation involved officers from the Crime Detection Team, including Assistant Inspector Prakash Pawar, Sub-Inspector Vinod Labhade, and multiple constables.The Panvel City Police has arrested an auto-rickshaw driver who stole auto rickshaws, drove them to his hometown with a forged notorised document to show that the auto was declared as scrap and sold to others. The accused, identified as Nisar Sattar Khan (36), a resident of Kachchi Mohalla, Panvel, was arrested following a late-night police patrol and a 4-km chase assisted by the police. With the arrest of the accused, police recovered 18 stolen vehicles worth approximately Rs 12.45 lakh.
Due to a spike in auto-rickshaw thefts across Panvel, Kalamboli and Kamothe, senior police officials had directed the Crime Detection Team to intensify their investigations. Using CCTV footage analysis, informers and technical tracking, the police identified a suspect.
On February 10, during a routine night patrol, officers from the Panvel City Police Station spotted Khan, whose appearance matched the suspect seen in CCTV footage. Upon questioning, he confessed to stealing an auto rickshaw and later in further interrogation, admitted to stealing 18 auto-rickshaws over the past year.
Following Khan’s confession, a police team was dispatched to Mehkar, Buldhana, where the stolen vehicles had been sold. With the help of local police, the team recovered 18 stolen auto-rickshaws, linking them to multiple pending cases. Ten vehicles were connected to Panvel City Police Station cases, four to Kalamboli Police Station, and three to Kamothe Police Station, while one vehicle’s details are yet to be confirmed due to tampered engine and chassis numbers.
“This operation helped us solve 17 auto-rickshaw theft cases across the three police jurisdictions,” Deputy Commissioner of police (zone II) Prashant Mohite, said.
The investigation was carried out under the leadership of Senior Police Inspector Nitin Thakare, Police Inspector Shakir Patel, and Police Inspector Abhijit Abhang. The operation involved officers from the Crime Detection Team, including Assistant Inspector Prakash Pawar, Sub-Inspector Vinod Labhade, and multiple constables.
