Noida: Thieves drive away with 4 Renault Dusters from service centre

It was a heist that seemed straight out of the Hollywood film, “Gone in 60 seconds”. A group of six men, held a service centre guard hostage, walked in, got into four Renault Dusters, turned them on (the keys were in the cars itself) and swiftly drove away from Noida’s Sector 63 on Sunday.

The thieves lifted the vehicles in such a smooth manner that it indicates the involvement of an insider in the heist, police said.

According to the police, the incident took place around 3am on Sunday at Avia Auto Service Private Limited. The thieves lifted four Renault Duster vehicles from the service station and fled. Interestingly, the thieves did not have to make the effort of breaking car locks as the keys were kept in the vehicles.

The theft was captured in a CCTV camera fixed in the service centre. The thieves were seen driving out in the vehicles through the main gate of the complex.

Station house officer of Phase-III police station, Avnish Dixit, said, “Four Renault Duster SUVs were lifted from a service centre in Sector 63. The thieves did not have to break in or harm anyone in the process. It looks like they were very aware about the premises. It could be the job of an insider.”

Dixit said, “The thieves held a security guard hostage at the main gate, entered the premises, started the SUVs with the help of the keys inside the cars and drove them out of the service station.”

One of the owners of the lost car, Shikha Mishra, blamed it on the negligence of the service centre operators. Mishra said, “The manager of the service centre informed me on Sunday that my car is missing from their premises. The CCTV visuals show that the heist was performed in a very smooth manner, without any hindrance. The thieves also found the car keys inside the vehicle. The heist could not have been easier.”

Dixit alleged that the service centre has inadequate security personnel.Police have registered a case and are investigating the matter.