Your stolen car could now be a taxi

Mumbai:  Based on a tip-off, the special squad of the western suburbs arrested two car thieves who are believed to be part of a gang that has stolen more than 45 cars from the city.

The ingenious thieves avoided detection by stealing only those cars that could easily be modified and re-sold as taxis.

Kamil Ansari (56) and Rafiq Sheikh (26), who were picked up from Khar, usually stole only small cars like Santro, which are popular with cabbies.

They would modify and re-paint the cars before getting duplicate ownership papers made through RTOs and selling them to unsuspecting taxi owners and drivers.

"The gang used to convert the cars into taxis as they are not checked that thoroughly during nakabandis. They would change the colour, number plates and even the chassis numbers to avoid detection.

Duplicate papers were the final icing on the cake, which made unsuspecting buyers purchase the cars easily," said a police officer.

Ansari alone has more than 45 car theft cases registered against him and the police are in the process of ascertaining Sheikh's criminal background.

They are also trying to trace two other people who are believed to be part of the gang.

The gang's ease in modifying the stolen cars and obtaining documents for them has led the police to suspect that it was being aided by garage owners and RTO officials.

"The government stamp on the papers seems authentic and the gang couldn't have gotten its hands on it without insider involvement. We are probing the role of garage owners and RTO officials as well.

The duo has been charged under Section 379 (theft) of the IPC," added the officer. Additional Commissioner (Western Region) Vishwas Nangre Patil confirmed the arrest.

The duo has been remanded to police custody till August 4 and has been handed over to the Khar police.