New Delhi: Delhi Police crime branch has busted a gang, which used to buy stolen luxury SUVs at throwaway prices, tamper with their engines and chassis numbers, forge registration certificates and sell them in Punjab and Rajasthan.Two men who allegedly used to buy the stolen vehicles for as little as Rs 4 lakh to 5 lakh each before reselling them at a much higher price have been arrested and 12 high-end luxury vehicles, bearing fake number plates and forged registration documents seized.The two are Gurwinder Singh Bainka (37), a resident of Tarn Taran in Punjab, and Dashrath Bishnoi (36), who lives in Rajasthan’s Bikaner.The operation was carried out by a police team, which had been tracking a rise in thefts of luxury vehicles across Delhi. “Officers analysed the pattern of thefts, CCTV footage and intelligence inputs. They zeroed in on some criminals who primarily targeted luxury SUVs at night and could unlock and drive away with them within minutes,” DCP (crime) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said.The cops received information that these stolen vehicles from Delhi were being transported to Punjab, particularly its border districts, before being sold.The breakthrough came on June 7 during the investigation of an auto theft case registered at Prashant Vihar police station. Acting on a tip-off, cops arrested Gurwinder from an MCD parking lot behind Crowne Plaza in east Delhi. A stolen SUV linked to the case was seized from him. It was fitted with a fake number plate and its registration certificate was found to be forged.Gurwinder revealed that he used to receive the stolen vehicles, including Toyota Fortuners, Mahindra Thars, Kia SUVs and Hyundai Cretas, from Dashrath before selling them, the DCP said. Gurwinder was sent to a 10-day police remand.Multiple raids were conducted in Amritsar and Tarn Taran, leading to the seizure of more stolen SUVs. Police later arrested Dashrath from Osian toll plaza in Jodhpur. This led to the seizure of more vehicles.Gurwinder used to work in a private company before entering a business dealing with used cars. He is a proclaimed offender in a case in Rani Bagh and has four previous criminal cases registered against him in Delhi and Punjab.Dashrath, who has allegedly been involved in the illegal trade since 2021, was never arrested before.
