Police arrest members of inter-state thief gang

February 25, 2011

Mangalore, February 25: The Dakshina Kannada rural police have busted an inter-state gang of vehicle thieves with the arrest of its five key members.

The arrested are Moidin alias Unhi (37), son of Ummar and resident of Varkady village in Kasargod, Sayyed Nihal alias Sayyed Irfan Nihal (40), son of Rashid Saab and resident of Bangalore, Hanif alias Eli Hanif (37), son of Badavakunhi, resident of Thokoor near Jokatte and S Ashraf (28), son of Ramla and resident of Shanthinagar in Vitlapadnur.

Disclosing this to media persons on Friday, A Subrahmanyeshwara Rao, DK Superintendent of Police, said that the recovery process of these stolen vehicles began following a tip-off received by the police from Moidin and Hanif who were arrested by the Bantwal police under the guidance of Circle Inspector K Nanjunde Gowda on February 18.

So far police had recovered 22 two-wheelers and 14 four-wheelers including two tippers, two lorries, two Scorpio cars, two Omni vans, an Innova, Swift, Santro, Qualis, Maruthi 800, Indica each valued at nearly Rs 1 crore from their possession. Five vehicles including Tavera, Maruthi Omni, Scorpio and two lorries are yet to be recovered, he said.

The vehicles have been recovered from various parts of the state such as Bangalore, Hubli, Mangalore, Mandya, Davanagere, Kerala, Arasikere, Majeshwara, Mysore, Bantwal and other places.

The gang which was active since two years, used to steal vehicles, mainly using duplicate keys or altering gear indicator, throughout the state and sell them to people by making fake RC and other documents, he added. “Since most of vehicles have been registered under Dharawad RTO i.e., KA 25, we will also investigate the role of officers in this connection,” he said.

In various parts of the states, 24 cases have been registered against Nihal who is the prime accused, while S Ashraf who was in judicial custody has been released on body warrant.

Police personnel Vivekananda, MRM Thahasildar, Rakshith Kumar, ASI Kepu Gowda, Head constables Sanjeeva Purusha, Jnanashekhara, Kaleimar and others participated in the operation.

The SP declared a reward of Rs 10,000 for the police team. Rohini Katoch, Puttur ASP was present.

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Roadblock to Relief: Speaker Khader’s Push to Expand Key NH-66 Stretch from Nanthoor to Talapady

News Network

November 26,2025

Mangaluru, Nov 26: Assembly Speaker and local MLA U.T. Khader has initiated a high-level push to resolve one of Mangaluru’s longest-standing traffic headaches: the narrow, high-density stretch of National Highway-66 between Nanthoor and Talapady.

He announced on Tuesday that a formal proposal has been submitted to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) seeking approval to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the widening of this crucial corridor.

The plan specifically aims to expand the existing 45-meter road width to a full 60 meters, coupled with the construction of dedicated service roads. Khader highlighted that land for a 60-meter highway was originally acquired during the initial four-laning project, but only 45 meters were developed, leading to a perpetual bottleneck.

"With vehicle density rising sharply, the expansion has become unavoidable," Khader stated, stressing that the upgrade is essential for ensuring smoother traffic flow and improving safety at the city's main entry and exit points.

The stretch between Nanthoor and Talapady is a vital link on the busy Kochi-Panvel coastal highway and connects to major city junctions. The move to utilize the previously acquired land for the full 60-meter width is seen as a necessary measure to catch up with the region's rapid vehicular growth and prevent further traffic gridlocks.

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