By IANS,
Gandhinagar : Ramesh Prajapati’s specialization bordered on the unconventional. And quite like the protagonist in Bollywood movie “Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye” he stole vehicles with ease, the only difference being his preference for tractors over swanky sets of wheels.
This 34-year-old made a fortune out of stealing tractors in Gujarat and selling them off in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. All he needed was a little help from an accomplice who dismantled the stolen vehicles, gave them a new look and drove them into other states.
Prajapati’s tally of stolen tractors was 20 when he ran out of luck and fell in the police net: The cost he had to pay for being over adventurous and striking too close to a police post.
A school dropout from a family of potters, Prajapati was picked up and taken to Vejalpur police station near Ahmedabad for questioning March 13 after a tractor went missing from it’s jurisdiction.
During questioning, the tractor thief from Zeera town of Unjha in north Gujarat confessed to stealing 20 tractors from the peripheral areas of Ahmedabad and other parts of north Gujarat.
“This could well be the tip of the proverbial iceberg and we may get links to more such thefts,” said Inspector J.M. Bharwad, who is investigating the case. Prajapati has been taken on a five-day police remand till March 18.
According to the police, Prajapati’s last tractor theft was from just behind the Vejalpur police post. This came soon after his strike outside a crematorium in Siddhpur while the owner was mourning inside.