New Delhi, Mar 4 (IANS): A farmhouse was rented in Delhi by a gang of thieves to dismantle stolen cars and later sell them in the spare parts market to wipe out all traces of car theft.

Seven accused persons have been arrested in connection with the case, including a mechanic who used to dismantle old vehicles of BMC in Mumbai.

They had rented a shed in a farmhouse at Shahpur village in the Narela area of the national capital. It was found that two brothers -- Avtar Singh and Gurjeet Singh -- were operating the racket in a very sophisticated manner.

They used to steal cars from Tilak Nagr, Rajouri Garden, Janak Puri, Vikas Puri, Khyala, Rani Bagh, Mahindra Park and adjoining areas. The stolen vehicles were then brought to the shed in the farmhouse where the mechanic, identified as Gulab, used to dismantle them with the help of the accused brothers.

Gulab, an ace mechanic with expertise in dismantling vehicles, has been arrested.

"Thereafter, they used to sell the dismantled parts of the vehicles. For this, the services of a number of receivers of stolen vehicles were undertaken and the parts were sold to the receivers in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. Four teams were formed which conducted simultaneous raids on different locations, leading to huge recoveries and arrest of the accused and receivers of stolen properties," said Urvija Goel, DCP, West Delhi.

The police found six bodies of cars, 32 car seats, 15 bumpers, 36 tyres of different makes, 10 number plates, 7 batteries, 3 bonnets, 15 headlights, 7 steerings, 3 music systems, 4 back dickeys, 13 windows and 11 CNG cylinders from the spot.