Two held with five stolen auto-rickshaws

Detectives of Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) arrested two men and recovered five stolen CNG auto-rickshaws from a garage in the port city early yesterday.

The arrestees Md Sumon, 24, and Md Arafat, 24, are members of a group who stole auto-rickshaws from different districts, detectives claimed.

Tipped off, law enforcers raided a garage in the area and arrested the duo -- both mechanics by profession -- and recovered five stolen CNG-run auto-rickshaws worth Tk 17.50 lakh, said Inspector Elias Khan of DB, adding that during primary investigation, the arrestees admitted that the vehicles were stolen.

“They are active members of a thieves' gang,” the police official said, adding that there are eight to ten others members in the gang, who steal the vehicles and later change their chassis and engine numbers.

They pick up the vehicles from Cumilla, Noakhali, Feni and adjacent areas and take it to a garage owned by one Kabir. They would also make fake documents before selling those off, the official also alleged.

The duo has been handed over to Chawkbazar Police Station and a case was filed in this connection.