How man stole vehicles, then duped owners by ‘offering info’ at a price
“He was on a motorcycle, which was found to be stolen from the parking area of Indira Gandhi Hospital in Dwarka. He disclosed that he stole three more vehicles,” said the DCP.
3 min read
The accused, Raj Kumar, was arrested on August 11. (Express File Photo) Raj Kumar (27) had been allegedly involved in at least 16 cases of stealing all kinds of vehicles in and around West Delhi and Dwarka. The crime seemed mundane and not very profitable — until he chanced upon ZIPNET.
Using the portal, he would retrieve information about complainants in auto-lifting cases, call them and claim he knew about their stolen vehicles. He would even video call them to show that he is near their vehicles, all at a cost.
Referring to one such incident, police Monday said on the intervening night of August 1 and 2, the theft of an Ecco vehicle was reported at Baba Haridas Nagar in Dwarka, following which a police team was formed and an investigation was taken up.
DCP (Dwarka) Harsh Vardhan said the team checked CCTV footage of the spot and nearby places and followed the route taken by the accused. “Meanwhile, the complainant received a WhatsApp call. The caller stated that he knows about the thieves and where the stolen vehicle is… (he said he would divulge the information) if the complainant paid Rs 5,000 through PayTM,” said the DCP. The WhatsApp number was put on surveillance.
On August 11, using technical surveillance and through local sources, Raj was arrested from Nihal Vihar.
“He was on a motorcycle, which was found to be stolen from the parking area of Indira Gandhi Hospital in Dwarka. He disclosed that he stole three more vehicles,” said the DCP.
An officer told The Indian Express, “During questioning, Kumar told us he was recently released from Tihar jail, where he was lodged in connection with vehicle theft cases. In prison, an undertrial, Mohit, taught him how to use ZIPNET (Zonal Integrated Police Network), which has information related to stolen vehicles, mobile phones and missing persons. Before he was imprisoned, Raj was involved mostly in stealing vehicles. After he got out of jail, he used ZIPNET to gather information about people whose vehicles were stolen.”
Describing how Raj used the portal, police said one has to simply select a date period on ZIPNET and the city, and the website filters out details about each stolen vehicle across districts.
Another office said when the complainants used to question the veracity of his claim, Raj would video call them. With his face half hidden, he would show them vehicles of the same make and brand — ones he had already stolen — and then demand anything between Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 via online payment from them in exchange for information about the vehicle.
“In this way, he has duped over 20 people on the basis of fake information about their vehicles. He said he made more money this way than from just stealing vehicles. Apart from extorting money from owners of vehicles he had stolen, he could also call up several other complainants by using the portal. We have not recovered the money he got from such complainants but we believe it to be in lakhs,” said another officer.
You May Like
