Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police has busted a gang involved in selling parts of stolen vehicles.
Police said the members of the gang steal car parts and sell them in the market. They are mostly mechanics two of whom were arrested by the police recently. Bhubaneswar DCP Pinak Mishra said the accused are Basant Kumar Raut and Ankit Kumar of Odagan in Nayagarh. While Basant works as a mechanic in a garage, Ankit is a B Tech student at a private engineering college. They were booked under relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and forwarded to court. The accused used to steal cars and sell their parts to brokers since selling it is easier than selling the vehicles in the market. Police seized nine vehicles, several of them stolen from AIIMS Maitri Vihar and Nayapalli from them.
The accused targeted crowded places in the capital city like Unit I and Unit II, Forest Park, front of Capital Hospital and Ashok Nagar. They used master keys to unlock the vehicles parked in the localities and took them to free parking lots. The accused then took out the parts from the cars and sold them to dealers in the city. They also used to sell the parts to scrap dealers. The police are keeping an eye on scrap and car parts dealers in the city. The police have advised car owners to remain vigilant and put two locks in their vehicles along with GPS devices. The Commissionerate Police has put up signages at places prone to car thefts in the city. The car owners must remain vigilant while parking their vehicles especially at crowded places in the city, police said.
