Four arrested in vehicle robbery while selling chhole kulche, paratha on streets of Noida

NOIDA: A gang of inter-state vehicle thieves used a novel modus operandi, setting up food stalls at busy commercial and office areas where some of their targets may have also been their customers, snacking unsuspectingly on chhole-kulche and paratha, while giving away a handy titbit or two of information about the neighbourhood.15 stolen motorcycles and scooters were recovered from four men identified as Pushpendra, Raju, Brajesh and Lokesh. The accused were picked up near a Hanuman temple in Sector 60 during a vehicle-checking drive based on local intelligence inputs on Wednesday. Two knives were also recovered from the men, who had been living in rented rooms after coming to NCR from Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, some months ago, additional DCP Manisha Singh said.During interrogation, the accused revealed that Pushpendra and Lokesh operated food carts in crowded markets and outside office complexes, using the cover to identify motorcycles and scooters that could be stolen later. They would take photographs of targeted vehicles and share them on WhatsApp with accomplices.“The stolen vehicles would be hidden in isolated locations that saw little public movement, and eventually sold to buyers to fund their lifestyle and drug addiction,” Singh said. Reportedly, one bike would fetch around Rs 10,000 to 15,000. According to the information given by police, the gang conducted reconnaissance across busy commercial areas in Noida, Delhi and Ghaziabad, striking during both day and night hours. Following which chowki incharge Sector 60 Jaydeep Malik and NIB chowki incharge Dinesh Malik were assigned to work on the gang.The 15 recovered motorcycles and scooters, including several Hero Splendor bikes, a Passion Pro and a Jupiter scooter, are linked to theft cases registered at police stations across New Ashok Nagar, GTB Enclave, Kaushambi along with sectors 24 and 39.Police said another accused, Shripal, also from Sambhal, is believed to be the gang’s mastermind and is currently absconding. Station House Officer (SHO) Amit Tomar of Sector 58 police station said Shripal had previously served jail time in vehicle theft cases and has more than 22 criminal cases registered against him while the search operation to find Shripal is currently underway.Multiple cases under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections related to vehicle theft and the Arms Act are also registered against the four men who were arrested. An investigation is also underway to identify other gang members and trace buyers of the stolen vehicles, police informed.