Mumbai: Mechanic held for theft of multiple vehicle silencers

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The MHB Police in Mumbai arrested a mechanic and detained one of his associates, they had allegedly been involved in thefts of car silencers, the police said. The duo are suspected to especially target ambulances, an official said.

The arrested accused has been identified as Anil Shantilal Bhutia alias Shahabuddin Sheikh so far the accused has confessed to stealing atleast 6 silencers of the Maruti Suzuki Eco cars and an ambulance, the official added.

The incident came to light when a Dahisar-based ambulance owner who had parked his vehicle near a private hospital approached the MHB police two days ago and reported about the silencer missing from the ambulance, he said.

Under the guidance of senior inspector, Sudhir Kudalkar PSI Akhilesh Bombe began the investigation searched dozens of CCTV cameras and traced the accused and later detained him from a garage in Mira Road. During the interrogations he confessed to the crime, said an officer from MHB police station.

Anil works as a mechanic at Mira road. He knew that the Eco car's silencer contained white gold, he used to work as a mechanic during the day and used to steal the silencer during the night with the help of one of his associates, he said.

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Anil's associate used to do recce during the day and later he used to inform him about the vehicles. At the night time, the accused used to visit the spot and steal the silencers of the cars, he added.

The official further said, the accused used to throw the stolen silencer in the Borivli drain after removing the gold dust particles from the silencers. During further interrogation, it has come to light that the accused used to sell the dust particles of the silences to a person in Mumbra.

The metal dust found in the silencers can be sold for high prices. Platinum, palladium, and rhodium are the metals found in the silencers.

We have solved 6 cases of silencer theft under the jurisdiction of the MHB police station accused was arrested and produced before the court today he was remanded in police custody till Monday. Another accomplice of Anil has been detained The MHB police are investigating how many car silencers the duo have stolen so far, said another officer.