Thrissur Police bust inter-state vehicle theft racket, 5 held
The case came to light when a mini truck was stolen from Parakkovil at Cherpu on February 23, around 2 am.
The case came to light when a mini truck was stolen from Parakkovil at Cherpu on February 23, around 2 am.
The case came to light when a mini truck was stolen from Parakkovil at Cherpu on February 23, around 2 am.
Thrissur: The Special Investigation Team formed by Thrissur Rural District Police Chief B Krishnakumar IPS busted an inter-state vehicle theft racket and arrested five men, including a Tamil Nadu native, here on Friday.
The five accused are Sajith (25) from Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, Thrissur natives Punnathadan Vijith (33), Punnathadan Ranjith (38), Suneesh (35), and Kariyath Valappil Vishnu (30).
The case came to light when a mini truck was stolen from Parakkovil at Cherpu on February 23, around 2 am. Cherpu Police registered an FIR. Later, Thrissur Rural SP B Krishnakumar IPS constituted a Special Investigation Team led by Irinjalakuda DYSP KG Suresh.
During the investigation, another vehicle spotted near the crime scene led the police to Sajith, a key member of the theft gang. Amid this probe, another mini truck went missing from Kodakara on February 27. When the police traced the suspects to Pollachi, they arrested Sajith. Simultaneously, a team led by Chalakudy DYSP Sumesh arrested Vijith, Ranjith, Suneesh, and Vishnu from Mannuthy.
According to police, the four Thrissur natives would identify vehicles during the day and steal them at midnight. Sajith collected the stolen vehicles from Ranjith, Vijith, Suneesh, and Vishnu and sold them to a dismantling gang in Mettupalayam. The police found that the gang had stolen several vehicles and trafficked them to Tamil Nadu in the past two to three months. Police recovered a container truck stolen from Puthukad and two Dost pickup vans stolen from Kodakara and Ollur. The investigation team also confiscated a car used by the gang for theft operations.
Ranjith, a key accused in the case, is facing charges in around six criminal cases, including assault, attempted murder, and criminal intimidation, registered at Puthukad Police Station. Vijith is booked for two assault cases at Puthukad Police Station. The police said the investigation is underway to identify other missing vehicles and any possible accomplices of the accused.