He studied till the fifth standard and used to ride an autorickshaw to make ends meet. In 2012, he came in contact with Raunak alias Babbu and planned to steal cars, from there on the duo expanded their gang and stole over 500 cars, including several luxury four-wheelers. They were illiterate, but they learnt how to steal cars from YouTube.
Taj Mohammad and Raunak Ali met Rinku and Hakim and started stealing cars in Delhi and its adjoining areas. They went to jail several times. When Taj’s accomplices were in jail, he started his gang with Guddu, Kashif and Matin. The Uttar Pradesh police have arrested the gang members from Ghaziabad’s Mussourie and uncovered the nexus that has connections with Dubai.
The gang used hi-tech software to unlock cars. The thieves then supplied the stolen cars to Aamir in Sambhal, to whom they delivered over 200 vehicles and to a man in Vadodara Gujarat. They downloaded software on their tablets to unlock luxury cars that have an anti-theft system, the police said.
Aamir and his wife are an accomplice in the theft too, the cops said, adding that the couple gave them tools to steal cars and even supplied remote-controlled car keys, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Crime, Ajit Kumar said.
Software, Duplicate Keys, Magnet – The Modus Operandi
The accused told the police that they steal when there’s a demand for a car. Guddu, Matin, and Kashif go on a recce to spot a car. The gang members, after spotting a car, used to break the lock of the trunk or smash the window to get inside the vehicle and make a duplicate key with the help of the software they downloaded on their tablet.Â
They used magnets to break the steering lock of the cars, change the number plate of the vehicle and remove the GPS trackers from them. As technology in cars changes, their modus operandi changed too. The thieves would put their phone on flight time and disable the location to ensure they are not tracked. They told the police that used WhatsApp to communicate and avoided normal calls while committing the crime. The profit was equally divided among them and the rest was used to fund the lifestyle they wanted to live, which one of the accused said was the reason to start stealing cars. The police said they preferred stealing luxury cars.
‘Want A Better Lifestyle’
Guddu, who never went to school and used to ride an e-rickshaw, said he started stealing cars because he wanted to earn more and have a good lifestyle. Others had similar reasons.
The interstate nexus had connections with Dubai. Aamir operated out of Dubai and they would often go to Dubai to get duplicate keys of luxury cars, which they used in India to steal the luxury vehicles.Â
The police have recovered two Maruti Vitara Brezza, one Boleno, a Honda Jazz and a Hyundai Santro from their possession. The cops have seized several tools like screwdrivers, hammers, tablets, pliers, etc.
The accused were also involved in stealing money from an ATM in Delhi’s Rohini. Taj, his wife, Kashif and Guddu cut open the machine and stole Rs 19.9 lakh. The police had filed a case and the accused were on the run.Â
