Delhi Police crime branch busts inter-state auto lifting racket; 3 arrested, 16 luxury cars recovered
Jan 18, 2026
New Delhi [India], January 18 : Delhi Police crime branch on Sunday busted an inter-state auto lifting racket, leading to the arrest of three accused and recovered 16 high-end cars.
Speaking to ANI, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Crime Branch Aditya Gautam provided further details on the case, stating that the accused supplied stolen cars from Delhi to Punjab and forged documents to register and sell them.
"Our interstate cell has arrested three people so far. One person was arrested from Punjab, one from Chandigarh, and one from Delhi. 16 cars have been recovered, including eight Fortuners, 5 five Kia Seltos, one Thar, one Creta and one Venue...," the DCP informed.
"One accused, Amandeep, supplied cars stolen from Delhi to Damandeep in Punjab, who would then tamper with the chassis numbers of these cars. They, together with Arvind Sharma, created forged documents of the stolen vehicles...," he added. 
He further stated that the accused had registered and sold nearly 100 cars prior to the arrest.
"The accused were registering the cars in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh using forged documents and selling them in several other states. So far, they had sold 100 such cars," he added.
The DCP assured strict action against the perpetrators, adding that "all the accused related to the matter will be arrested."
"We believe there are more people involved in this racket, and they shall also be arrested soon," he emphasised.
Earlier today, Delhi Police successfully busted an inter-state investment fraud syndicate, resulting in the arrest of eight accused across multiple states, according to an official release. The operation was led by the Cyber Police Station, South West District, New Delhi.
The syndicate allegedly channelled cheated funds to foreign handlers operating from Cambodia using Indian mule accounts on a commission basis. During the investigation, police recovered 10 high-tech mobile phones containing details of multiple mule accounts, along with 13 SIM cards used to operate these accounts.
On November 7, 2025, a case was registered under relevant sections of the BNS at PS Cyber/SWD on the complaint of a 42-year-old resident of Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, who alleged that she was cheated of Rs 15.58 lakh on the pretext of investment. According to the release, the complainant received WhatsApp messages offering expert stock trading guidance and was induced by false assurances of guaranteed returns. Under pressure from these fake claims, she transferred the amount to the alleged fraudsters.
According to the release, the arrested individuals include Vanapatla Sunil (43), Sakinala Shankar (61), Manoj Yadav (38), Sandeep Singh alias Lankesh (30), Aditya Pratap Singh (23), Rahul (30), Sheru (38) and Sompal (34).