MBA student caught stealing car tyres in Hyderabad

A 23-year-old MBA student has been arrested in Hyderabad, Telangana, on charges of stealing spare tyres and rims from parked cars. Police recovered a total of 15 tyres from the accused, which includes 12 tyres of a Mahindra Thar. In addition, police also found two tyres of a Ford Endeavour and one tyre of a Ford EcoSport in his possession.

The investigation into this theft case began following a complaint received on 20 October. According to the complaint, a spare tyre was stolen from a Mahindra Thar parked outside Galaxy Enclave Apartment in the Rethibowli area. Based on this incident, the police registered a case and conducted a meticulous investigation of CCTV footage.

During the examination of the CCTV footage, a youth named Shoban Ali Khan was seen arriving on a scooter. In the footage, he is seen sitting on his scooter and using his mobile phone first. He then gets off and approaches a black-coloured Thar and attempts to remove the stepney tyre mounted on its rear door. During this time, when a scooter passes in front of him, he immediately goes back to his own scooter. Seeing someone coming towards him again, he returns to the scooter. In this manner, he waited for about a minute while keeping an eye on the movement of people on the road. Finally, he goes back to the Thar and, within a matter of seconds, removes the tyre, places it on his scooter, and flees the spot.

Police investigation revealed that the accused used a unique method to commit the thefts. He would visit puncture repair shops and, claiming he needed tools for a puncture, would borrow them by paying a refundable deposit of ₹200 to ₹300. After removing the spare tyres and rims of the vehicles, he would return the tools and take back his deposit. According to investigators, he could remove the stepney tyre very easily with the help of a spanner. The accused's father works at a wheel-alignment shop, which gave him sufficient knowledge about spare tyres.

On Saturday, the police arrested Shoban Ali Khan. The accused has confessed to his involvement in 11 theft cases registered within the limits of 10 different police stations. These police stations include Film Nagar, Langer House, Gudimalkapur, Saifabad, Chandrayangutta, Chaderghat, Chatrinaka, Meerpet, and Narayanaguda, which also includes two cases from Attapur.

Now, the police will attempt to take the accused into custody to determine when these thefts began and if more cases are linked to him. Furthermore, the police are also investigating where the stolen tyres were being sold and which network was operating for the sale of this stolen property. Investigators are also gathering information about potential buyers and the disposal network.