Police nabs vehicle-thief; seize 13 two-wheelers from possession

Aurangabad, Nov 27:

In a bizarre incident, who had lost his both legs in an accident, became a hardcore vehicle-theft to earn his livelihood. The crime branch police arrested him from his native village in Gangapur tehsil and seized 13 vehicles from his possession, recently.

The police inspector (crime branch) Avinash Aghav said," Our PSI Gajanan Sontakke's team came got a tip that Devidas Totaram Shikhare (resident of Gajgaon) is involved in stealing two-wheelers from GMCH campus and Waluj MIDC area. The squad reached his native in Gangapur tehsil and detained him. During the investigation, Shikhare confessed of having lifted motorcycles from the jurisdiction of urban police. The police seized 13 two-wheelers parked near his house. The total cost of these old vehicles is estimated around Rs 2.90 lakh. The accused is a hardcore criminal.

The seized vehicles have been handed over to the Waluj MIDC police. Under the guidance of Aghav, PSI Sontakke and his team comprising ASI Satish Jadhav, head constable Dnyaneshwar Pawar, Parbhat Mhaske, Sandeep Beedkar, Vijay Bhanuse, Sunil Belkar, Lakhan Gaikwad and Nitin Dhule took the action. Shikhare is wanted by Kranti Chowk police station in a theft case. He is also wanted by many police stations, said Aghav.

Modus Operandi

Shikhare would lift old vehicles from the city limits. He would lift vehicles that are in motorable condition. Later on, he would find his customer from rural villages. Through negotiation, he would finalise the price. The deal was made for the namesake so that the buyer does not raise doubt on him. He would take token money between Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000 and take a photograph with them through his cellphone. He would then tell them to clear the remaining dues after getting the papers from him.

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Earlier, Shikhare would use to run a garage. Unfortunately, he met with an accident while he was working in the garage. He lost both legs. However, he put on artificial limbs but was unable to resume his previous work. Hence, he started stealing old two-wheelers and disposing of them without vehicle documents.