NEW DELHI: A family-operated car theft gang allegedly involved in stealing over 25 vehicles in the past few months has been busted in the Dwarka, police said on Saturday.
The gang’s kingpin had initially failed to open a legitimate family business and instead formed a gang with his son and son-in-law. The accused have been identified as Raman (56), his son Sagar (31), and his son-in-law Neeraj (29)—all residents of Rohini, officials said.
According to police, the trio operated mostly in the early morning hours, targeting high-end vehicles such as Maruti Brezza, Swift Dzire, Hyundai Creta, and Toyota Fortuner, mostly parked near gyms and parks in residential colonies. “The accused used sophisticated tools and equipment to disable the car’s security system. It took them just a few seconds to unlock and start the vehicle and around five to seven minutes to flee with it,” a senior police officer said.
A tip-off was received on May 28 that Raman would be coming in a stolen car along with his son Sagar. “A trap was laid at Ganda Nala, Vipin Garden, Uttam Nagar. Police intercepted the vehicle and arrested both,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Ankit Singh. At their instance, Neeraj was also arrested. Raman has been found involved in 18 cases, Sagar in 12, and Neeraj in 14 cases, the officer said.
During interrogation, the accused confessed to stealing multiple luxury cars, including Hyundai Creta, Toyota Fortuner, and Maruti Suzuki Brezza. These vehicles were sold to receivers based in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. The gang is estimated to have stolen around 20 to 25 cars over the last 10 months.
“Raman revealed that to avoid being betrayed by outsiders, he formed a family-only gang, including his son and son-in-law, to maintain secrecy and prevent information leaks to the police,” Singh said. The accused disclosed that they used on-board diagnostics tools to steal the cars.
“All modern vehicles have an OBD port that allows authorised technicians to access vehicle data. The gang used these sophisticated tools to disengage the car’s security system and steal the vehicles,” the DCP further said.