The Crime Branch of Navi Mumbai Police has arrested eight individuals and busted a gang involved in the theft of diesel and tires from parked vehicles in Navi Mumbai and Thane. The accused reportedly rented cars through mobile apps like Self Drive Car and Zoomcar to commit these crimes.
One of the arrested suspects, identified as Salman Nasir Kaldani (29), a driver by profession and a resident of Riyan Apartment, Sector 12, Bonkode Village, Koparkhairane, Navi Mumbai, was apprehended on October 7, 2024.
According to the police, the thefts were reported by transporters, whose trailers and containers were targeted while parked on the roadside, particularly when drivers were asleep or when no one was near the vehicles.
The Crime Branch’s Unit Two formed a special team and laid traps in strategic locations, ultimately catching Kaldani in the act.
Police revealed that Kaldani and his accomplices would drive along routes such as JNPT Road, Kharghar, Panvel, Vashi, and Ghodbunder Road. When they found a parked trailer or container with an unattended or sleeping driver, they would siphon diesel from the vehicle’s fuel tank using a pipe, transferring it into cans they had brought along. They also targeted tires. To avoid suspicion, they used rented cars from apps like Self Drive Car and Zoomcar during their operations.
The other arrested suspects have been identified as Kamal Chandrapal Rathod, Shersingh Narfatsingh Rathod, Akash Chavan, Ravi Sonkamble, Avinash Chavan, Firoz Nasir Kaldani, and Junaid Shaikh, all residents of Koparkhairane, and Ashok Maske alias Kancha, a resident of Jagtatashi.