A special team led by a head constable managed to track down a gang who reportedly stole Royal Enfield Bullet bikes, as well as an aeronautical engineer who allegedly purchased spare parts of these vehicles to deliver projects to engineering students across the country.
According to police, head constable R. Saravana Kumar, from Abhiramapuram police station, who works in the special team of R. Sudhakar, Joint Commissioner, East was given the task of investigating a series of Royal Enfield bike thefts reported in the city. After investigations, the team nabbed three suspects — A. Mohammed Shafi, 27, of Mallipatinam, Thanjavur district; D. Sibi, 23, of Kerala; and Ameerjan, 36, of Virudhunagar district and recovered bikes worth ₹15 lakh from them.
Based on their information, four more accused — Jamal alias Jamaluddin, 39, of Tondiarpet, Syed Ibrahim, 30, of Madhavaram, Kathiravan, 29, of Sivaganga and Ameer, 25, of Vellore, were nabbed and 16 bikes worth ₹25 lakh were seized.
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All the accused coordinated the theft and sale of stolen vehicles using a mobile message sharing platform. Further investigations revealed the involvement of more members in the racket.
Saravana Kumar, under the guidance of Mr. Sudhakar, tracked CCTV footage and collected call details and nabbed more suspects -- Sultan Liaqath Ali, Ismail and Bhaskar. “They were involved in the dismantling of the stolen bikes and selling the spare parts,” said Mr. Saravana Kumar.
During the investigation, he found that gang sold the spare parts to many customers including one individual, Shohan Kumar, an aeronautical engineer from Kottivakkam. “He helps engineering students with ready-made academic projects and makes products like a Gyrocopter, Go Karts, mini helicopters and small cars. He charges close to ₹2 lakh for each project,” Mr. Saravana Kumar claimed.
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Shohan Kumar had approached Sultan Liaqath Ali and Ismail of Pudupet to purchase the spare parts and engines of stolen vehicles. “The projects he made with the stolen spare parts have been used by students of many engineering colleges in the city and even in a national-level competition in New Delhi,” he explained.
To date, Saravana Kumar’s team has nabbed 13 suspects and recovered 46 bikes. Further investigations are on. On Thursday Mr. Saravana Kumar was rewarded by city police commissioner Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal.