Chandigarh: An engineer and a Class-12 passout who used their technical knowledge for vehicle theft finally found themselves in police net at the Hallomajra light-point on Saturday night.
The crime branch of the UT police nabbed Harpreet Singh alias Smarty (24) and Ramjeet Singh alias Ram (22) and recovered eight stolen high-end luxury cars. Four of the cars were stolen from Chandigarh. A vehicle belonging to Punjab excise and taxation officer Hukam Chand Bansal, of Sector 15, has been recovered.
Harpreet is a BTech from the Regional Institute of Management and Technology(RIMT), Mandi Gobindgarh, while Ramjeet is Class-12 pass. Both are unemployed and reside in Delhi. A Fortuner, four Innovas, an i-20, one Pajero and a Cruze valued at around Rs 1.1 crore in total have been recovered.
The thieves used to break a windowpane and then open the bonnet of the vehicle to disconnect the wires of the central lock from the battery. They used to drag the vehicle for some distance and then change its ECM (engine-control mudule) and scan the immobiliser (an electronic security device fitted to an automobile that prevents the engine from running without the original key) with the help of an electronic scanner and change the programming of the immobiliser so that the vehicle could start with another key.
UT SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill said the two-member gang targeted luxury cars and their most recent theft was a Cruze from Sector 44.
“We received a tip-off that the accused planned to strike in the city. A crime branch team comprising DSP(crime) Pawan Kumar and inspector Gurmukh Singh nabbed the accused near the Manimajra light-point. They were coming from Zirakpur in a white Hyundai i-20 (PB-10EU-0605),” the SSP said. The accused could not provide the papers of the car, the SSP claimed and were arrested.