Why Mumbai autos are all over Dhule

Some of the recovered autos at Santacruz police station

Abid Faizal Shaikh was dismayed when his auto was stolen last year. More misery befell his family after his father's auto got stolen a month later. Shaikh began his own investigation only to learn that their vehicles had been sold in faraway Dhule. But instead of reporting the crime, he chose to be a part of it, only to be tracked down by the police. Shaikh's story came to light after he and four others were arrested by Santacruz police. While the cops have recovered 18 autos from Dhule, they suspect the gang might have stolen 50-60 autos from the western suburbs.

It started with the police registering an FIR following the theft of an auto a few months ago. Investigating officer Yogesh Pawar said, "When we checked the record of the auto with the traffic division, we found that it had been fined for non-renewal of insurance in Dhule. We visited Dhule and found that it had been sold in a village for Rs 40,000 by a mechanic named Aslam Maniyara."

Senior PI, Santacruz

The team was also baffled at finding many Dhule autos with MH-01 and 02 registration numbers, which are assigned to Mumbai. "Maniyara told us that he had sold many stolen autos from Mumbai for Rs 27,000-Rs 50,000," said Pawar. The police then arrested Shaikh, Jabbar Khan, Wasim S and Javed Khan, auto drivers from Santacruz and Bandra. The police said Shaikh, a resident of Bismillah Apartment at Juhu Gully in Andheri West, was the mastermind. They said Shaikh took to the crime after his and his father's autos were stolen last year. Senior inspector Dyaneshwar Ganore of Santacruz police station said this appears to be a big racket. He said the gang used to steal autos parked on the roadside at night. Most of their victims are residents of Santacruz, Borivali, Mira Road, Dahisar and Kandivli.

"We found that the accused would drive the stolen autos till Padgha toll naka and Maniyara would collect the vehicles from there. Till now, we have recovered 18 autos. In Dhule, our officers noticed that most autos have Mumbai plates. We suspect it is a bigger racket," said Ganore.

How Shaikh got involved in stealing autos

Shaikh told the police that his family was in dire straits after they lost two autos to theft. As he looked for their autos, he came in contact with a Govandi garage that had some links with stolen autos being sold in Dhule. "Shaikh joined hands with the garage owner and got in touch with Maniyara. He found that his auto was stolen by another accused Javed and was sold to a villager in Dhule for Rs 40,000," said a police source. Armed with this information, Shaikh decided to be a part of the crime.

Autos brought from Dhule. The police suspect more such gangs are selling autos to the district

The source said, "Shaikh and others had been stealing autos for the past 6 months. It is likely that they have taken away more than 50-60 autos and sold them in Dhule." The police suspect that there are more such gangs.

The vehicles were sold to unsuspecting villagers

The police said Maniyara told his customers, mostly villagers, that he was into the business of buying autos from Mumbai whose licences had expired. His price band of Rs 27,000-Rs 50,000 was too tempting as well. He would tell the villagers that they would be able to recover the cost in just a few months. Maniyara also accepted money online to win over the trust of the buyers.