9 vehicle thieves operating in Delhi arrested; 19 motorcycles recovered

Nine vehicle thieves, including a five-member gang operating from Rajasthan, who had stolen motorcycles valued at more than Rs1 crore, were arrested yesterday, the police said.

In the first case, five men were caught from various parts of Rajasthan over the past fortnight by a team of the Delhi Police investigating the spurt in auto thefts in South Delhi. The team also recovered 16 stolen vehicles.

The five men were identified as Jacum (26), who is known as Don in his village, Iliyas (21), Maksood (20), Saddique (48), and Sazid (20), deputy commissioner of police (South) HGS Dhaliwal said. Saddique and Sazid were receivers of the stolen goods.

Jacum was arrested in Kidaner village following high drama as he opened fire at the police and his family and some villagers pelted stones at the team to try and rescue him.

"We had to use shells of very light pistols to scare away the villagers who damaged the police vehicles," Dhaliwal said.

The arrests came after police received a tip about the 'Mewati Gang' based in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan. Iliyas and Maksood were the first to be arrested on February 3.