The case of the bus which was stolen from a Hyderabad depot has been solved, with the Hyderabad city police announcing on Saturday that they had arrested eight of nine persons accused. A Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) had been stolen from the city’s Central Bus Depot (CBS) on Wednesday and later found dismantled at a scrap yard in Nanded, Maharashtra.
The nine arrested includes two brothers. Investigating officials said that the brothers stole the parked bus for their "personal needs" and sold it to the other accused for scrap.
According to the police, 27-year-old Syed Abed and 24-year-old Syed Zehad, who are the main accused, stole the bus and handed it over to Mohammed Naweed, a distant relative who runs a scrap business along with Farooq, another accused, near Martal in Nanded district.
Officials said that Naweed and Farooq paid the two brothers an amount of Rs 60,000 and struck a deal with five labourers to quickly dismantle the stolen vehicle. Farooq, who also has a criminal history in Nanded, is presently absconding.
The police said special teams were formed after receiving the complaint, which tracked CCTV footage and found that the bus was stolen at around 12:03 am on April 24 and first headed towards Toopran and later towards Nanded.
“The police could locate where the stolen bus was taken with the help of towing crane as it broke down enroute, near Bokar, 60 km away from Nanded. On reaching the spot, the dismembered parts of the stolen RTC bus were found intact. Assistance of the local police was obtained and the accused persons responsible for stripping the bus to pieces for selling it as scrap and to make money were nabbed,” the police said.
“Had the police not reached the spot in time, there wouldn’t have been any traces of evidence of the stolen vehicle,” the police added.
The accused were later produced before a court and sent to judicial remand.
The driver of the bus had parked the vehicle at CBS in Hyderabad on Tuesday night and gone to sleep at the rest room provided for him at the bus station. On Wednesday morning, he found the vehicle missing and searched for the bus, but in vain. The issue was then brought to the notice of his superiors, who filed a complaint at the Afzalgunj police station.
The bus, a Metro Express, belonged to the Kushaiguda depot, plying the 3D route between Ambedkar Nagar and Afzalgunj.
Media reports suggested that the vehicle could be started with a starter switch and not by key ignition, as it was an older model. The incident has also forced officials to contemplate stricter security measures.