New Delhi: Wearing neat and clean clothes, two brothers Shahzad (45) and Iqbal (57) used to take AC buses, not for taking a ride but fleeing with the laptops of the passengers. The thieves used to sell electronic gadgets to the travellers at different railway stations and bus stands at a throwaway price. Their nefarious activities came to an end after they were nabbed in Kashmere Gate area on October 4.
Police claimed that both are the natives of Hapur and are involved in the occupation of fruit vendor and auto driver. Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Nupur Prasad claimed that they arrested the accused after the detailed investigation.
One of the investigators in the case claimed that the accused while selling the laptops at stations used to dress up neat clothes and tell passengers that their purse carrying money was stolen so they are selling the laptop for few thousands of rupees as they are in dire need of money.
"The accused claimed that they used to convince the passengers with the concocted story succeed in selling laptop. At the spot, they also make the buyers believe that their laptop is in working condition by check-in before them. The device was completely formatted. The accused believed that the laptop would go to the other state with the passenger and cops will not get any clue," added the investigator. Police received complaint regarding incidents of bag lifting and theft of electronic items in Kashmere Gate area.
"The accused tried to sell two laptops costing more than Rs 40,000 when they were arrested by the team," said the investigator.
To crack cases of stolen laptops, Delhi Police requires a detailed investigation. "If the gadget is not connected with the internet then it is tough to track the device," said an investigator in the cyber cell. According to police, the phone can be traced through IMEI but it is not in the case of laptops; many times the police found that the stolen laptops are not connected with the internet as there is the possibility that the buyer will be using the gadget for watching movies or playing games.
"In many cases, MAC address is also not known to the victim when they file the complaint," added the investigator.
The police claimed that in theft cases they write letters to more than 10 service providers and ask them to report if they find the device open in their network.
The gangs involved in the crime divide themselves into several teams. "One team stole, other involved in manipulating the device after which it is handed over to some other for sale," said the investigator.