New Delhi, Feb 3 (PTI) The Delhi Police has busted an interstate gang involved in stealing luxury vehicles, apprehending its 40-year-old mastermind from Uttar Pradesh, and recovering five stolen cars, an officer said on Monday.

A police investigation began with the report of the theft of a Maruti Ecco from Farsh Bazar on December 28.

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CCTV footage led to the identification of the thieves.

On January 29, police received a tip-off about one Manoj Pal's presence near CBD Ground in Shahdara and he was nabbed from the area.

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During interrogation, Pal confessed to stealing luxury cars with his accomplices -- Raju, Kala, and Amruddin -- who remain absconding. He admitted to stealing over 50 high-end vehicles from Delhi-NCR and selling them in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Further investigations led to the recovery of five vehicles.

The gang used sophisticated key configuration devices to generate electronic keys and start the vehicles. Once stolen, Raju, Kala and Amruddin would alter engine and chassis numbers before selling them with forged documents, police said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)