Imphal: Manipur Police have arrested two alleged vehicle lifters during a coordinated operation by the anti-vehicle lifting squad and personnel from Lilong Police Station on September 21.
One of those arrested has been identified as 21-year-old Md Abdul Razak alias Churanthaba, a resident of Lilong Haoreibi Makha Leikai in Imphal West. He was apprehended in connection with an FIR registered at Lilong Police Station over the theft of a Royal Enfield Meteor 350 motorcycle.
Police had recovered the stolen motorcycle earlier and subsequently handed it back to its owner after completing the required legal procedures.
The operation followed intelligence inputs that members of an alleged vehicle-lifting gang were planning further activities in the southern Lilong area. Acting on the information, a joint police team set up a mobile checkpoint along Chandel Road under Kakching Police Station and intercepted two suspects.
The second accused, 24-year-old Md Sohel Alam, a resident of Lilong Haoreibi Turel Ahanbi, was apprehended near the Lilong Turel Ahanbi Dam Mathak area. Police said Alam was wanted in connection with a separate case involving the theft of a Honda Activa, registered at City Police Station. The stolen scooter had also been recovered.
During the operation, police seized several items allegedly used in vehicle theft, including electronic devices, lock-picking equipment designed to bypass vehicle security systems, two mobile phones with active SIM cards and two Aadhaar cards.
In a separate operation on the same day, teams from Singjamei and City Police Stations recovered two more stolen vehicles.
A Maruti Eeco was recovered from Langthabal in Imphal West in connection with a case registered at Singjamei Police Station, while a Honda Activa was recovered from Sangaiyumpham Karanchi in Thoubal district in connection with a City Police Station case.
Police said the process of returning the recovered vehicles to their respective owners is underway.
The two arrested persons have been booked under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. They are currently in the custody of Lamphel Police Station as investigators probe possible links with a wider vehicle-theft network.