Penukonda: In a major breakthrough into the large-scale theft of engines from the KIA Motors manufacturing plant near Penukonda in Andhra Pradesh, police have arrested eight individuals in the case including a former KIA employee from Tamil Nadu.
A police spokesperson said that the arrests began after the interrogation of Pathan Salim, a resident of Punganur in Chittoor district, who was identified as a prime suspect. Based on his confession, police uncovered the involvement of Vinayakamurthy, a former KIA employee from Tamil Nadu.
Further probe revealed the names of six other suspects, all hailing from Tamil Nadu: Arjun, Manikandan, Vinayakan, Mohanraj, Arulkumar, and Akbar Ali. A case has been registered against all eight, who were produced in court on Wednesday and remanded to Penukonda sub-jail.
While the accused have been apprehended, the stolen engines are yet to be recovered as per police. Police officials also confirmed that their investigation pointed to security lapses within the KIA plant, which may have facilitated the theft.
The thefts at the auto company’s manufacturing plant in Penukonda in Andhra Pradesh’s Sri Sathya Sai district over the last five years.
It is understood that the South Korean auto company first approached police on March 19 after conducting an internal investigation. Preliminary police investigation has revealed that the engine theft may have begun nearly five years ago. “It (engine thefts) started in the year 2020. It has been a continuous process, nearly five years. We will go deep into the investigation,” Penukonda sub-divisional police officer Y Venkateshwarlu was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
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