Stolen SUV of BJP chief J.P. Nadda's wife recovered from Varanasi, three arrested (Lead)

New Delhi, April 7 (IANS) A Toyota Fortuner SUV belonging to BJP President J.P. Nadda's wife Mallika Nadda, which was reportedly stolen from a service centre in Delhi's Govindpuri area, has been recovered from Varanasi, police said on Sunday.

A police official said that they arrested three men, identified as Shivansh Tripathi, 23, Saleem, 34, and Mohd Raees aka Pappu, 33, all residents of Uttar Pradesh and beside the Fortuner, also recovered another stolen SUV.

Joginder Singh, the driver of Fortuner, on March 19, lodged a complaint with Govindpuri Police Station reporting the vehicle's theft from Giri Nagar in the area.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Southeast, Rajesh Deo said that during the probe, the police team assigned to crack the case analysed several CCTV cameras and reached Badkhal in Haryana's Faridabad, where specific clues about the involvement of habitual auto thieves Shahid and Tripathi were found.

On March 22, the police team achieved a breakthrough when acting on specific inputs, Tripathi was apprehended from the vicinity of Patiala House Court.

During interrogation, he revealed that he, along with his associates Shahid, a resident of Badkhal, and his son-in-law Farooq, along with Shahkul, committed the theft of the SUV from Giri Nagar.

At the instance of the accused, a vehicle used in the commission of the crime was recovered.

Tripathi further told the police that after stealing the Toyota Fortuner, it was moved to the farmhouse of Shahid’s son-in-law Farooq in Faridabad. Upon further interrogation, the accused disclosed that he, along with Shahid, sold the stolen car to a habitual receiver of stolen cars named Saleem in Lakhimpur Khiri, who further sells stolen luxury cars to receivers in Moradabad, Sitapur, Hathras, Mainpuri (all UP), and the northeastern states.

"Subsequently, the police obtained custody remand of Tripathi and conducted raids in Lakhimpur Khiri. At the instance of accused Tripathi, co-accused Saleem was apprehended," the DCP said.

During interrogation, Saleem disclosed that he had sold the stolen car to another habitual receiver named Raees. Based on this information, Raees was arrested from Sitapur (UP) and revealed that he, in turn, sold it on to Furkan.

"At the instance of accused Mohd Raees, the stolen Toyota Fortuner car of the present case was recovered from Beniya Bagh parking in Varanasi,” said the DCP, adding that efforts are on to nab other accused.

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