Thieves who stole 90 car batteries in one night arrested

Three men, who had allegedly taken only 30 seconds to steal a battery from a car and have stolen over 5,000 batteries from south Delhi, have been arrested, police said Friday.

The accused were identified as Sahzad (28), Gul Mohmad (31), residents of IP Extension, and Zuber (22), a resident of Loni, Ghaziabad. They had stolen batteries from 90 cars in a single night, they added.

On December 15, police had come to know that a gang of thieves had stolen 90 car batteries in one night from multiple areas in south Delhi, officials said.

"During investigation, police received information about the movement of the alleged culprits. After getting the information, police laid a trap near New Friends Colony," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ram Gopal Naik said.

Subsequently, the trio were arrested and 55 batteries and one car recovered from their possession, police said.

During interrogation, they confessed to stealing the batteries, Naik said. They take only 30 seconds to steal one battery, he added.

According to the DCP, the accused used to reach their targeted area in a car. Thereafter, one would keep the vehicle ready, in case they needed to flee, while one posed as a chowkidar and kept watch over the surroundings, and the other stole the batteries.

At a time, they stole approximately 40-50 batteries from one place, the DCP said, adding that the gang has stolen more than 5,000 batteries in the last 15 months.