Auto driver turned-'India's biggest car thief' who stole 5000 cars nabbed in Delhi

Chauhan, a resident of Khanpur Extention who studied till Class 12, used to drive autorickshaw in the past. He started stealing vehicles in 1995, NDTV reported.

He is notorious for stealing Maruti 800 cars from different parts of India and selling them in Nepal, Jammu and Kashmir, and North Eastern states. Chauhan also killed some taxi drivers.

He then moved to Assam where he worked as a Class-I contractor for the state government. He started committing thefts again after the Enforcement Directorate raided and seized his property, which was later auctioned by banks.

In 2015, Chauhan was arrested by Assam police with a sitting MLA, India Today reported. He is also notorious for smuggling rhinoceros horn in the northeastern state.

With his ill-gotten wealth, Chauhan bought properties in Delhi, Mumbai, and the northeastern states.

The Enforcement Directorate had earlier registered a money laundering case against Chauhan.

The police said Chauhan has three wives and seven children.

The special staff of Central Delhi Police were tasked to check the recent spurt in the activities of illegal arms suppliers in the region, India Today quoted deputy commissioner of police (central), Shweta Chauhan, as saying.

On a tip-off, the special staff nabbed Chauhan from the Desh Bandhu Gupta Road area in Delhi on August 23, she said.

The accused was involved in smuggling arms. He was allegedly carrying arms from Uttar Pradesh and supplying them to banned organisations in the North Eastern states, the police said.