Sunday, 10 March 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Two young men who were sent by their families to Dehradun to study engineering ended up getting addicted to substance abuse and then resorted to theft to support their habit. They were among the three men arrested by the police on Saturday for stealing vehicles.
According to the Dehradun police, Navin Patwal had lodged a complaint on March 6 about his Enfield Bullet motorcycle being stolen. His motorcycle was parked at his office parking lot at IT Park when it was stolen by unidentified persons. Earlier, on February 17, Sanjiv Kumar had lodged a police complaint about his Activa being stolen from outside his home on Canal Road. The police team formed to recover the stolen vehicles checked footage from CCTV cameras and used mobile phone surveillance to trace the culprits. Acting on a tip off from an informant, the police caught accused Ajay Kumar from Kirsali Road with the stolen motorcycle on Saturday. Two other accused, Rajkumar Gupta and Altmas Nawas were arrested with the stolen Activa from Sinola Road.
During questioning, Gupta and Nawaz said that they are third-year engineering students at a private institute in Dehradun. According to the police, all the accused said during questioning that they are into substance abuse. They had resorted to stealing vehicles in order to fund their habits, the police said. Kumar (26), who hails from Nandprayag in Chamoli district is a habitual vehicle thief who has been jailed for vehicle theft in Dehradun, Chamoli and Uttarkashi in the past. Gupta (23) hails from Nepal while Nawaz (23) is a native of Lucknow district in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.
