Hyderabad
In a case where an MBA graduate stole over 60 cars in various cities, the accused has finally been caught. Satyendra Singh Shekhawat, an interstate thief, stole over 60 cars and was arrested and moved from Bengaluru to Hyderabad on a prison transit. He had eluded cops time and again and was arrested last month in Jaipur, his native place, and was brought to Bengaluru.
However, in a case of real-life mirroring reel life, Shekhawat’s case is reminiscent of the ‘Pontaic Bandit’ Doug Judy in Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He had stolen five cars in Hyderabad and teased the cops by sending them messages like ‘Catch me if you can.’Shekhawat came under the radar of Telangana police in January 2021 when he stole a Fortuner from a five-star hotel in Hyderabad. The car belonged to Kannada film producer Manjunath, and Shekhawat was caught on CCTV stealing it. Following this, a team from Banjara Hills police station went to his house in Jaipur and spoke to his father and wife.
At the time, Shekhawat contacted the police and requested them not to harass his family and promised he would surrender. However, he did not mend his ways and kept taunting the police. In fact, he also came to Hyderabad and drove away in an Isuzu Pick Up Truck belonging to a software engineer.
But Shekhawat happens to be a habitual offender involved in car thefts since 2003 and has cases pending against him in Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu. Incidentally, Shekhawat’s wife was caught selling a stolen car in Telangana in August 2021.
The police recovered 20 four-wheelers, a two-wheeler, 20 manual keys, 13 smart keys, six mobile phones, an X-horse Dolphin key-cutting machine, and other tools. As per the cops, Shekhawat ran an elaborate operation, including purchasing car lock key frequency scanners, key programming devices, and key cutting gadgets that cost him a few lakhs.
He also prepared duplicate keys by scanning the key frequency and stole cars. Right now, police are questioning him to understand his method of operation.