Malabar Hill police have arrested a 42-year-old taxi driver for allegedly stealing wheels of high-end cars in South Mumbai. Police said the taxi driver has five cases of wheel theft registered with the Malabar Hill police. According to the police, the accused has been identified as Chandrakant Basanna Kamble and has been staying in Byculla with his wife and daughter. Police said that the modus operandi of Kamble was he would park his taxi next to his targeted car, following which he would remove a wheel of the car and flee. The accused was caught red-handed in the wee hours by the patrolling police in Walkeshwar.
He was brought to the police station and during the course of his interrogation, the police claimed, he confessed that he had been stealing wheels since last one and half month. Kamble would allegedly steal the wheel and sell it, the next day. An officer from Malabar Hill police station said, “In order to hide himself, Kamble would park his taxi next to the car. He had become an expert in removing the wheels, so he would do it in minutes, following which he would flee in the car.” “He would also carry paver blocks in his taxi so that he could balance the targeted vehicle,” said an officer.
Police said that cases of wheel theft had been increasing due to which, they had to increase the patrolling police in their jurisdiction. An officer requesting anonymity said, “Residents were scared to park their cars on the roads, as they feared that their car would be without a wheel the next day.”
“He would sell these costly wheels for mere Rs 500. He is addicted to alcohol and drugs so in order to fund this habit, he started stealing wheels,” said an officer. The accused has been booked under Section 379 (punishment for theft) of the Indian Penal Code. He was produced in Girgaon court and has been remanded to police custody.
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