Police said the gang watched vehicle theft videos on social media, stole vehicles, replaced original number plates with fake plates, and sold them by posing as genuine owners
The operation was conducted by the Navi Mumbai Police's Crime Branch. Pic/Special Arrangement
The Navi Mumbai Police in Maharashtra has cracked down on organised vehicle theft, busting two separate vehicle-lifting rackets, arresting five accused, and recovering 43 stolen vehicles worth more than Rs 46 lakh, officials said.
The operation was conducted by the Navi Mumbai Police's Crime Branch.
The recovered vehicles include motorcycles and autorickshaws stolen from Navi Mumbai and neighbouring districts.
The operations were carried out following specific instructions from Police Commissioner Milind Bharambe, Joint Commissioner Sanjay Yenpure, Additional Commissioner (Crime) Deepak Sakore, and Deputy Commissioner (Crime) Sachin Gunjal.
Police were directed to intensify action against the rising number of two-wheeler and autorickshaw thefts in Navi Mumbai and surrounding areas.
Habitual vehicle thief with 92 cases arrested
In the first case, the Crime Branch arrested Nasir Sadiq Khan (58) from the Kharghar police station area in connection with CR No. 490/2025.
Police said Khan is a habitual offender with over 92 previous vehicle theft cases registered against him.
Investigations revealed that he used his experience working in garages to steal motorcycles, erase engine and chassis numbers, and sell the vehicles after destroying identification marks.
Based on CCTV footage and technical analysis, police recovered 17 stolen motorcycles worth Rs 5.82 lakh. This led to the detection of 14 theft cases registered at Kharghar and APMC police stations. Police also seized tools used to tamper with vehicle numbers.
Four-member gang held in another operation
In a second major operation, the Crime Branch arrested four accused from Dombivli and Kalyan for stealing motorcycles and autorickshaws across Navi Mumbai, Thane, Mumbai, and Raigad districts.
The accused were identified as Santosh Lakshman Dole (45), Laxman Tripunna Masalkar (34), Sanjeev Gangaram Saxena (52), and Kailas Khetaji Chaudhary (38).
Police said the gang watched vehicle theft videos on social media, stole vehicles, replaced original number plates with fake plates, and sold them by posing as genuine owners.
26 vehicles recovered, 23 cases detected
Acting on technical inputs and CCTV footage, police laid a trap at Dombivli East and arrested the accused on 28 January 2026.
Further investigation led to the recovery of 26 stolen vehicles, including 21 motorcycles and five autorickshaws, worth around Rs 40.46 lakh. This resulted in the detection of 23 theft cases registered at various police stations in Navi Mumbai, Thane city, Mumbai, and Raigad.
Probe continues
Prerna Kate, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime), CBD-Belapur, said efforts were underway to trace the owners of three unclaimed vehicles. She added that further investigations are ongoing to identify links with other vehicle theft syndicates operating in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
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