Indian police have arrested Anil Chauhan, 52, believed to be the country's ‘biggest car thief’. Photo: Delhi Police
Indian police have arrested Anil Chauhan, 52, believed to be the country's ‘biggest car thief’. Photo: Delhi Police
Indian police have arrested Anil Chauhan, 52, believed to be the country's ‘biggest car thief’. Photo: Delhi Police
Indian police have arrested Anil Chauhan, 52, believed to be the country's ‘biggest car thief’. Photo: Delhi Police

Indian police catch country's 'biggest car thief'


Taniya Dutta
  • English
  • Arabic

Police in New Delhi have arrested a man believed to be India's “biggest car thief”, with more than 5,000 cars allegedly stolen over the past three decades.

Anil Chauhan, 52, the reported kingpin of a car theft gang, was arrested last week in central Delhi.

He used to drive an auto rickshaw, a three-wheeled mode of transport, but began stealing cars in 1995.

Police said Mr Chauhan has been indicted on more than 180 criminal charges, including murder and smuggling of both weapons and endangered rhinoceros horns.

Six “country-made pistols” — improvised hand guns made in workshops — along with seven live cartridges, one stolen motorcycle and one stolen car were reportedly recovered from his possession.

The accused allegedly used to favour stealing Maruti 800s — Indian-made hatchbacks popular in the 1990s — and would sell them in the Himalayan states of Jammu and Kashmir in north-eastern India as well as in neighbouring Nepal.

He later moved to north-eastern Assam state, where he began working as a contractor with the state government, building contacts with local leaders.

But he reportedly returned to stealing cars after a number of his properties were raided and his possessions seized by the government due to money laundering charges.

He is also believed to have frequently smuggled horns from the greater one-horned rhinoceros, a vulnerable species found only in Assam.

The animal's horn is a key ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine and can fetch up to $65,000 per kilogram on the black market.

Mr Chauhan has been arrested several times, the last being in 2015, but he was released in 2020.

The Delhi police arrested him after receiving a tip following a recent spike in illegal arms dealing in the region.

With a population of 1.3 billion, India is home to millions of vehicles but suffers from a scourge of car theft.

About 240,000 vehicles were stolen in the country last year, the latest figures from the National Crimes Records Bureau show.

Sinopharm vaccine explained

The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades. 

“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.

"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."

This is then injected into the body.

"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.

"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."

The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.

Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.

“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.

Quick facts on cancer
  • Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases 
  •  About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime 
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  • Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
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  • The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion

   

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Western Clubs Champions League:

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House-hunting

Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove

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  2. Westminster, London 
  3. Camden, London 
  4. Glasgow, Scotland 
  5. Islington, London 
  6. Kensington and Chelsea, London 
  7. Highlands, Scotland 
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Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

Match on BeIN Sports

Dubai Rugby Sevens, December 5 -7

World Sevens Series Pools

A – Fiji, France, Argentina, Japan

B – United States, Australia, Scotland, Ireland

C – New Zealand, Samoa, Canada, Wales

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SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom" 

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Khalid Essa, Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammad Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoon Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri

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4,872 matches 

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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

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Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

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April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.

July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.

March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.

April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.

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In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.

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Thursday, February 8 v Kenya; Friday, February v Canada; Sunday, February 11 v Nepal; Monday, February 12 v Oman; Wednesday, February 14 v Namibia; Thursday, February 15 final

Updated: September 06, 2022, 2:52 PM`