Five held for vehicle thefts

New Delhi: Five persons have been arrested in two separate operations in connection with hundreds of vehicle thefts in the national capital, police said on Tuesday. The accused were identified as Arif (42) and Oshaf Rabbani, residents of UP, Kishan Gopal (49), a resident of Rajasthan, Abdul Wahid (32) and Kuldeep Pandey (24), both residents of Delhi, they said.

"In the first operation on December 10, on the basis of a tip-off, police laid a trap and arrested Arif from near Govindpuri Metro Station,

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Chinmoy Biswal said. The accused disclosed he had stolen more than 100 cars from Delhi-NCR. He was later involved in purchasing stolen vehicles from auto-lifters, the DCP said. On his instance, the receiver of the stolen property, Kishan Gopal, was arrested.

In the other operation on December 8, police arrested Abul Wahid from Amar Colony area while he was driving a stolen car. On his instance, his accomplices Kuldeep Pandey and Oshaf Rabbani were also arrested, the DCP said.