According to the police, one of the accused is named Mohommad Shahabuddin Ahmed Ali (34), who is a resident of Kalwa, while the 16-year-old lives in Vile Parle with his grandmother and younger brother.

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An officer said, “The duo stole rickshaws from the western suburbs and sold them in Kalwa region for Rs 20,000 along with bogus papers under the pretext of having contacts with genuine rickshaw sellers.”

Their modus operandi involved the minor to push the rickshaw out of the area at night, after which Ali with his knowledge of the vehicle started the rickshaw and took it to Kalwa. “Ali arrived in Mumbai in 1998 and since then he has been driving autorickshaws and knows how to start the engine without keys,” said an officer.

A team comprising senior police inspector Venkat Patil, police inspector Sanjay Surve, assistant police inspector Anil Dhole, Santosh Sawant, Sapna Kshirsagar, Praveen Patil and constable Sudhir Shinde have recovered eight stolen autorickshaws.

The accused have been booked under sections 379 (theft), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (cheating), 471 (using forged document), 420 (dishonestly delivering property) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. Ali has been remanded to police custody while the minor has been sent to a children’s home in Dongri.u00a0