North East car-lifting network busted with arrest of ‘Godfather’

SHILLONG: Anil Chauhan, a notorious auto-theft kingpin, who was recently arrested by Assam Police and is said to have a nexus with Assam legislator Rumi Nath is no ordinary criminal.
Known as the ‘Godfather’ of car liters in the North East, Chauhan is on the wanted list in several states for carrying out a series of vehicle thefts with precision.
Incidentally, Chauhan had been arrested by Meghalaya Police in August, 2010 for his involvement in a series of car thefts in the State. Chauhan was arrested with three others for involvement in car-lifting cases and during search police recovered number plates, flat keys and other equipment from their possession.
Earlier in the same year, Assam Police had arrested Chauhan and one of his associate Munir Ali Lashkar from a hotel in Silchar, based on information provided by Meghalaya Police.
As per Meghalaya Police records, Chauhan was considered as the ‘Godfather’ of the car-lifting gang in the Northeast.
He had links with racketeers in Mumbai, Delhi and other cosmopolitan cities and car lifters regarded him as their ‘Godfather’ for his expertise in car lifting and running the racket.
According to Meghalaya Police data, a murder case is also pending against Chauhan, who hails from Dispur in Assam.
He is also said to be involved in other criminal activities, including car lifting in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
During his thieving stint in Shillong, Chauhan and his gang were particularly interested in stealing Boleros as compared to other vehicles.
The modus operandi of Chauhan and his accomplices in Shillong was that they would first move around the city to carry out a recce in order to identify potential Boleros that could be stolen.
Once a Bolero was spotted and decided upon, the car-lifters used a flat key to open the fuel tank of the vehicle and copy the design of the original key.
Then the car lifters would use special equipment to make duplicate key on the spot before speeding off with the vehicle.
Once the vehicle is successfully stolen, the gang would keep the vehicle in different locations in Shillong for at least four hours to avoid suspicion. During this period, the car lifters would also change the number plates and make minor changes in the chassis and engine numbers.
The stolen vehicles would then be handed over to the financer of the whole car-lifting operation for supply to the respective destinations.