A past employee of a car service centre did pull off a brazen theft, but was subsequently identified, and arrested
The said individual, who was previously employed at an authorized Hyundai India dealership, made off with a Creta SUV. He stole it from the Jahangirpuri metro station parking lot, and sold the car to a bootlegger in Rae Barielly. But due to quick thinking of the Creta owner, and the fast action of the Police, the thief was caught and the car was recovered.
How Did He Steal Creta?
Though the thief was no longer working at a Hyundai service center, he had kept an eye on the owners and their cars while he was at the service center. He had opened his own garage, and would privately contact Hyundai car owners and offer them to service their cars at cheaper rates.
With intent to steal, the thief did his groundwork. In this particular case, he had tampered with the locking mechanism to make it malfunction. He then contacted the vehicle owner in a private capacity to carry out repairs. And the car owner, unwittingly divulged where the car was parked.
There’s a lesson to be learnt here as to why one needs to do business with a trusted freestanding mechanic, or turn to an authorised service centre. That, or you could end up being taken for a ride. And how. The business owner from NW Delhi contacted police on June 29, 2020. He stated he’d left the car keys with the parking lot manager when going to work but found the car missing when he returned.
CCTV Helps
Big city parking woes are bigger than we give them credit for. And with the sheer volume of cars that park and exit each day requires parking lot attendants do more than just mange the plot. With a constant inflow of cars, every square inch needs to be used efficiently.
For this, cars may need to be moved multiple time when parked. Most parked cars are left in neutral as it’s easy to push them around. There’s also the requirement of leaving the car key with an attendant, so, they can move the car for convenience.
Managing a parking lot is important business, and contracts go out to the highest bidder. And, parking lots do their best to safeguard their interest, and not find themselves facing flak for an incident like this one.
Scanning CCTV footage helped place the accused Akhlak Khan at the site of the crime. The car owner however identified the accused as Pradeep Goel, an authorised service centre employee, owing to his past interactions with the accused.
DCP (Metro) Jitender Mani said the thief was nabbed in Noida where he was operating a garage. During interrogation, he agreed to the theft and stated that the vehicle had been sold to a person in Rae Bareilly. When the coppers reached the buyer, it was found that UP Police had already apprehended the buyer for bootlegging. The stolen Hyundai Creta was later found parked near Lucknow. A probe is on to determine whether or not the stolen Creta had been used as a vehicle of transport for bootlegging.
