PANAJI
Panaji police on Thursday claimed to have busted a series of recent two-wheeler thefts with the arrest of a 27-year-old Bastora resident who allegedly stole six scooters from open parking areas across the city.
The accused, identified as Babu Muller and working at a local casino, was intercepted while he was found with a stolen Honda Activa (GA-07-M-2113). “He failed to produce documents for the scooter, which was stolen on November 25. He was placed under arrest,” SP (North) Harishchandra Madkaikar said at a press conference on Thursday.
The investigation team zeroed in on him after examining CCTV footage and technical surveillance, which helped them identify and trace Muller’s movements across Panaji. During interrogation, he allegedly confessed to stealing five other bikes - GA-07-AA-1647, GA-07-Y-6943, GA-07-M-1869, GA-07-M-5561 and GA-07-AA-0456. All six scooters, worth approximately Rs 2.4 lakh, have been recovered.
“Muller parked the stolen vehicles in isolated spots and planned to sell them for monetary gain. We are verifying his criminal background and checking for possible accomplices. He has been remanded to three days’ police custody,” the SP said.
The Goan had, on the same day, reported that Panaji recorded three Activa thefts over the past fortnight from residential and commercial parking areas.
DySP Sudesh Naik said the possibility of the youth’s involvement in similar thefts in other parts of Goa cannot be ruled out.
