Bengaluru police arrested a 41-year-old interstate car thief, Satyendra Singh Shekhawat, who allegedly stole 4 four-wheelers from Bengaluru alone in the past four years.
The accused hailed from Rajasthan and was infamous for primarily targeting high-end luxury and Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs).
He has also stolen more than 3 dozen vehicles from Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Hyderabad, Telangana etc.
As per the police report, “The accused had imported two devices; one that helped in decoding the smart keys of the latest high-end cars and SUVs and another to produce duplicate digital as well as manual keys. After breaking into the vehicle, he would open the electronic board below the steering wheel and use the ‘lost key’ option to generate keys with the help of the imported devices. He is said to purchase the gadgets for Rs 10 lakhs.”
In August of 2021, Shekhawat had a close shave with the Telangana Police when they arrested his wife for allegedly selling stolen vehicles. The Police team from Telangana produced his wife before a local court in Rajasthan seeking a body warrant to take the suspect to Telangana for investigation.
However, the court denied the request made by the team, after which Shekhawat filed a case against the police team for wrongfully arresting his wife. Then, in an audacious act of mocking the police, the car thief went ahead and sent a text to the police from Telangana saying “Catch me if you can”.
Having gotten overconfident of his skills, the man was finally apprehended by Jodhpur police. His arrest prompted actions by Bengaluru police, which found CCTV evidence of Shekhawat’s involvement in the theft of an Audi car in October 2021 from Amrutahalli and finally led to his arrest by Bengaluru police.