Police say they are now on the lookout for “King Khan”, the kingpin who heads many other gangs in the region from his base in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.

According to police, Khan, who operates from Sotiganj Bazaar in Meerut, is the common link to several gangs busted in the region.

“Interrogations of 12 members of a gang last month had also pointed to a man named Khan in Meerut, and it has been the same this time around,” SP (City) Paresh Pandey said.

Officers said Khan has been getting bail for members of several gangs arrested in the region for the past few years.

Following investigations, the police have not ruled out the possibility of Khan being involved in an organised arms racket, funded through the thefts.

Two of the arrested men, Muzir and Shakib, police sources said, were earlier caught for car theft in Sadar Bazaar, Meerut and bailed out by Khan. The two told police that they were later given arms and ammunition to run the gang.

Police say the gang, which was busted on Friday night in a joint operation by the Sector 39 and Phase II police stations, operated in five states with its base in western UP.

“Investigations have shown that no member of the gang is involved in more than 10 thefts. This makes it difficult to nab the whole gang,” Pandey said. The gang had its hideout in Jasola, and had links with dealers to sell the cars in various states, police said.

The police are considering getting narco-analysis tests of the accused — Tajvir, Rajiv, Kallu (alias Yasir), Guddu (alias Vishnu), Muzir, Shakib, Akhlakh and Bharat — done.

Special teams have been sent to Meerut, Saharanpur and Dankaur in Greater Noida, and to other states like Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Haryana to arrest other gang members, police said.

A special team comprising O P Chaudhary, SHO of the Sector 20 Police Station and Vegpal Singh, in-charge of the Indian Oil Chowk police post has been formed to check car thefts in Noida, police said.

Three auto-lifters held in Noida
Another gang of car lifters was busted and three men were arrested in Noida on Sunday night. The Sector 20 police made the arrests near Naya Baans in Sector 15 in Noida. Four cars and some illegal arms have been recovered from the hideout of the accused, the police said.

O P Chaudhary, station house officer of the Sector 20 police station, said, “We had information that some suspicious activity had been noted in the area. We nabbed the men after reaching the spot.”

Gopal, Feroz and Mati had been active in the area for a few months now, the police said. They have confessed to having stolen close to 12 cars and selling them in the grey market in the district, the police added.