NOTORIOUS MEERUT BASED ISHTIAQ-ISRAR GANG BUSTED

In two separate incidents a team of AATS, Operation Cell/North West District has arrested one auto lifter namely Ishtiyak s/o Haji Babu R/O Village Zahidpur Kharkhoda Meerut UP vide FIR No. 14569/16 dated 17.05.2016 u/s 379/411/482/34  IPC PS Maurya Enclave North-West and two receivers namely Zaved Ali @ Bunty s/o Shahzad r/o 57/59 Pakki Bazar Varanasi Cantt, Varanasi UP and Israr Mulla s/o Imamuddin  r/o 177, Taj Building Sotiganj Meerut UP have been arrested .

INCIDENT

It had been observed that for the last few months the incident of vehicle theft had increased in area of North West Distt. Delhi. In view of this situation a team consisting of SI Ved Parkash, HC Deepak Tyagi and other staff under the leadership of Insp Arun Kumar (AATS/NWD) under the supervision of ACP/Operations Sh. R K Ojha was assigned the specific task of working on it. The team collected the data of vehicle theft of last six months and studied it extensively. The team laid traps in the area of different police stations for apprehending auto lifters red handed.

After extensive studies of the modus operandi of auto lifters and marathon interrogation of hundreds of watchman/security guard it was observed that some members of the gang are coming in Hyundai Creta and Swift and by breaking the quarter panel glass of the targeted vehicle they barged into the vehicle. They manage to start the car with the help of ECM/BCM and lock set with key which was carried by them within 5/6 minutes and used to take away the stolen vehicle.

The first clue crop up from the CCTV footage of a Jhulelal Society Pitampura from where One Innova Car was stolen . Incidentally the watchman/Security Guard managed to note down the number 9606 of a suspicious a biscuit color Creta Car.  When the team further developed information, it was found that the same Creta car bearing regn. No.DL1CT9606 has been found moving suspiciously in the area of Paschim Vihar from where a Fortuner Car was also stolen a few days back. The number was found to be registered in the name of a company situated in Ashok Vihar.  Whereas the owner of Creta car (white) in Ashok Vihar had the Creta registered in his name and the same was with him.  Thus it was very clear that some auto lifter has been using the fake number of this original Creta Car to avoid the suspicion. Though the work was tedious one but that could not stop the team of AATS to develop the clue to its final inception.

Some input was received that one Ishtiyak-Israr Gang of Meerut is active in the area of North-West District. Gradually when the team tried to zero in on the gang members and their activities some amazing facts were revealed to them. As per information notorious Auto lifter Israr, Ishtiyak have made a gang of many others who come to Delhi in the interval of 4/5 days to commit theft of various cars. It was also surprising that they used to get “order” of a make & model of the car which was to be stolen.  It further came to notice that the Gang used Creta car for committing theft and they parked the Creta car somewhere near the Delhi border.  On 01.06.2016 a tip off was received by Police team the Creata car bearing registration number DL 1CT 9606 is parked in Dishad Colony Dilshad Garden, East District in front of HDFC Bank.  A trap near the above said Creta Car was laid.  On 03.06.2016 at about 8 PM three person/autolifter came and started the Creta Car. The above said car was signaled to stop but the driver later identified as Mohd. Istiyak did not stop and sped away towards Seemapuri. He even hit HC Surender but he managed to move away.  The team managed to get the Creta Car stopped and overpowered the driver Istiyak Ali while his associates occupying the rear seat of the car managed to flee.

On sustained interrogation Auto Lifter Istiyak Ali disclosed that he had stolen more than 125 high end cars from Delhi. Since he is aware about the topography of Northwest Distt. and its adjoining areas like Paschim Vihar, Rohini etc, so he is more active in these area.  At his instance one more i20 Car was recovered that was stolen vide FIR No.14569/16 dated 17,05.16 u/s 379/411/482/34  IPC PS Maurya Enclave . He was arrested in the case.  The accused Ishteaq & Mulla Israr has been sent to Judicial Custody.  4 Cars, dismantled Hyundai, Verna, 17 ECM’s, 11 BCM’s, 16 Lock & Key sets and tool kit were recovered from the duo.

In a separate incident one Tata Safari Car was stolen in the area of PS Shalimar Bagh regarding which an E- FIR No. 14567/16 u/s 379/411/482/34 IPC PS Shalimar Bagh Delhi was got registered by the complainant. The team was already working on Meerut based above mentioned Israr Gang. From reliable sources it was learnt that some auto lifters are selling the stolen cars to some persons in Eastern UP who would further sell the stolen car with forged papers on OLX (the famous online selling/buying portal).

The complainant of the case brought to notice of the AATS/NWD that the above mentioned  stolen Safari car has been put on sale on OLX website by one person namely Zaved Ali @ Bunty resident of Varanasi UP. When he asked Javed alil to send some more photographs of the vehicle he recognized his Safari from some minute details like God’s Idol on the dash board etc. Strategy was chalked out and a deal was stuck through Zaved Ali posing as decoy customer for the car on the number given on OLX. The seller asked the buyer to come Varanasi to finalize the deal. A joint team of Special Staff/NW and PS Shalimar Bagh in the supervision of ACP/Operations Sh. R.K Ojha was formed and sent alongwith the complainant to Varanasi (UP).  The team apprehended Zaved Ali.  On Sustained interrogation he spilled the beans.  He disclosed that he is part of a big racket of Auto Lifters.  When the car was recovered the engine number, chasis number and registration number was found changed.  The complainant opened the bonnet of the car  he found the battery of the car same which he got changed just few months ago. To convince the complainant and police party further, most surprisingly, the car got started with the original key which the complainant was carrying with him. The same car Tata Safari was seized.

  

Modus Operandi :-

The Ishtiyak-Israr Gang has a unique modus operandi to theft the vehicle. He formed a gang comprising of Zahid and Mohsin, all resident of Meerut Disst. (UP). He further disclosed that he is the kingpin of the gang. They steal the car as per the demand ordered by their receiver Kabari Meerut (UP). He further disclosed that about 20 days ago they stole the Creta Car from Anand Vihar area and put the fake registration plate on the stolen vehicle. He further disclosed that they used to come in North East Distt Delhi by bus and used this Creta car parked by them at different places near Delhi- UP border to commit the auto theft in Delhi. He further disclosed that the Creta car is always laden with ECM/BCM, Key & Lock Set of different cars and other sophisticated tools. 

The accused Zaved Ali revealed that Israr @ Ikrar used to steal the cars from Delhi NCR and would pass the stolen car to Israr@Ikrar used to tamper the engine number and chasis number of the stolen car. Subsequently they used to get it registered with a fake number. In order to make this process further full proof they took another stunning step. This gang have its modules who used to look for the vehicles which got damaged in accidents and have claimed  “TOTAL LOSS”. With the connivance of some local people they used to get the stolen vehicle registered with registration number of that  “TOTAL LOSS” vehicle. Thus the vehicle became a “GENUINE” one. To further excel the business Zaved Ali discovered an innovative way of selling the stolen cars at OLX. He would post the pictures of stolen vehicle with new registration number on Olx for the prospective buyers. Innocent buyers used to get trapped easily.    

Police Team:-

A special team was constituted on direction of Insp. Arun Kumar under the close supervision of ACP/Operations North-West Distt . Sh. R.K Ojha with the following officials.

1.     SI  Ved Parkash

2.     SI Ajay Kumar

3.     SI Sunil

4.     ASI Sheshdhar

5.     HC Deepak Tyagi

6.     HC Ajay

7.     H.C Naresh  

8.     HC Surender

9.     HC Baljeet

10.     HC Ramesh

11.    Ct Raju Punia

12.    Ct. Anoop 

13.     Ct. Joginder

Recovery:-

1.  One Hyundai I 20 Car

2.  One Hyundai Creta Car

3.  One WagonR car (u/s 102 Cr.P.C.)

4.  Tata Safari Car No. DL 8CM 7955

5.   17 ECM, 11 BCM, 16 Lock Sets & 15 Luxury car keys

6.  2 hand drill Machine for breaking the lock of the car

7.  A kit containing all the tools needed for stealing any car including car jacks, screw drivers, hammers etc.

Cases Worked Out

1)       FIR No. 14569/16 dated 17,05.16 u/s 379/411/482/34  IPC PS Maurya Enclave Delhi .

2)       FIR No. 14567/16 u/s 379/411/482/34 IPC PS Shalimar Bagh Delhi .

·        The Engines and Chasis number of other Cars found to be tampered and the same will be sent to FSL for examination.

Impact on the incident of vehicle theft

From 1^st of June to 10^th of June 2016, incident of car theft has been analyzed in North-west. 18 car theft cases reported during the said stint in the Distt. Whereas during the corresponding period in month of May 41 cases of car theft  come to  fore. It means there is decline of more than 55% of the incident of car theft.

Profile of Accused Person

1.            Accused Ishtiyak was born in Meerut (UP). He has not studied at all and only knows how to write his own name. He is married and has one child. Earlier he used to run an  audio tape shop in which he incurred losses. His brother Israr is also a notorious auto lifter of the North India. He got fascinated and influenced with the wealth earned by his elder brother in the stealing trade. Since then he has been in the business of receiving and selling the stolen vehicles. He used to steal for “ordered” cars in a week from Delhi & NCR. Within a span of one year he has stolen about 125 cars from Delhi & NCR. He is proud of his profession and boast of the heavy returns in the trade as compared to the minimum risk involved. Earlier he has been arrested in as many as 25 similar cases. He was also been booked under MCOCA.

2.            Accused Zaved Ali was born in Varanasi UP. He has five brothers and five sisters. His father is a driver with a surveyor of renowned insurance company. He is student of LLB . During normal course of visit he came in contact with Israr & Ikrar who induced him to live a splendid life. Due to his desire for luxurious life he got involved in the activities of the Gang. He got the idea of selling the vehicle on OLX. He found it very safe and lucrative to sell the stolen cars on OLX.

3.            Israr Mulla  is permanent resident of Meerut UP. He is in the business of selling stolen vehicle spare parts for past many years. He has his shop in infamous Sotiganj Market Meerut which has lately become hub for the consumption of the stolen vehicle in past years. The market is famous for the speedy dismantling of stolen vehicle. Within hours they dismantle the vehicle to debris and even the owner is not able to recognize the vehicle.

          Efforts are being made to nab remaining identified gang members, the receiver of stolen vehicle to and link the other recovered cars.