Siliguri, 02nd May: In a significant breakthrough, the Siliguri police have apprehended four individuals involved in the illicit trade of stolen e-rickshaws. The accused arrested have been identified as Vishal Sarkar, the manager of a showroom, Sujit Saha, an employee, Subhash Malakar, the garage owner, and Vivek Das, the thief.
According to reports, the Siliguri police achieved the major breakthrough during an investigation into a reported theft of an e-rickshaw from a residence in the Dabgram area on April 21, prompting the filing of the complaint the next day. Acting on a tip-off, the police intercepted a woman in possession of a stolen e-rickshaw.
During interrogation, the woman mentioned that she had acquired the toto from a showroom located in the Eastern Bypass area and proceeded to show the receipt of the purchase. After further investigation, it was revealed that Sujit Saha, an employee at the showroom, had purchased the stolen toto from Subhash Malakar for Rs 14,500, and the showroom manager Vishal Sarkar sold it to the woman for Rs 55,000.
Further investigation revealed a previous incident in 2022, where a resident of Dabgram had purchased a new e-rickshaw for Rs 1,30,000 from the same showroom, which was later stolen and sold by Vivek Das and the showroom employees. At present, the accused showroom owner is absconding while the other four have been presented in the Siliguri court for legal proceedings.