Insurance agent held for bike theft

The Byculla police on Saturday arrested an insurance agent for allegedly insuring stolen two-wheelers and cheating the insurance company to the tune of lakhs of rupees. The police suspect him to be a part of a gang of vehicle thieves. Sajeeva Sadia Devdiga, 44, is a resident of Kurla.

The police said that on November 25, 2009, Vitthal Sonawane had lodged a complaint about his missing motorcycle with the Byculla police station.

On February 8, 2011, crime branch officials arrested a bike thief, Ismail Javed Shaikh. Shaikh revealed that he had stolen Sonawane’s bike. “Shaikh said that he had prepared bogus papers and had them insured through Devdiga,” said an official from Byculla police station.

Investigations revealed that Devdiga had insured 17 such stolen vehicles, after which the bikes were sold to the customer unaware of the fraud.