A 23-year-old MBA student has been arrested for allegedly stealing spare wheels and rims from parked cars across Telangana’s Hyderabad, with police recovering 15 wheels, including 12 from Mahindra Thar vehicles.
The police said the accused would borrow tools from puncture repair shops and used them for removing the vehicles’ spare wheels.
After reviewing the CCTV footage, the person was identified as Soban Ali Khan and arrested on Saturday. Police registered a case and examined CCTV footage, which showed a man arriving on a scooter, removing the wheel and leaving. The stations named include Film Nagar, Langar House, Gudimalkapur, Saifabad, Chandrayangutta, Chaderghat, Chatrinaka, Meerpet and Narayanguda. Investigators are also checking the alleged buyers and possible disposal network.
The investigation began after a complaint on October 20 over the theft of a spare wheel from a Mahindra Thar parked outside Galaxy Enclave Apartments in Rethibowli. Khan disclosed his alleged involvement in 11 theft cases registered across 10 police station limits, including two in Attapur.
Police further said that he could “easily” remove the stepneys with a spanner. Police said they would seek his custody to establish when the thefts began, whether more cases are linked to him and where the stolen wheels were sold.
