Abid Faizal Shaikh was dismayed when his auto was stolen last year. More misery befell his family after his father’s auto got stolen a month later. Shaikh began his own investigation only to learn that their vehicles had been sold in faraway Dhule. But instead of reporting the crime, he chose to be a part of it, only to be tracked down by the police. Shaikh’s story came to light after he and four others were arrested by Santacruz police. While the cops have recovered 18 autos from Dhule, they suspect the gang might have stolen 50-60 autos from the western suburbs.

It started with the police registering an FIR following the theft of an auto a few months ago. Investigating officer Yogesh Pawar said, “When we checked the record of the auto with the traffic division, we found that it had been fined for non-renewal of insurance in Dhule. We visited Dhule and found that it had been sold in a village for Rs 40,000 by a mechanic named Aslam Maniyara.”