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Man steals Mumbai traffic police’s towing vehicle, held after meets with accident | Mumbai News
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A towing van of the Mumbai traffic police was allegedly stolen by a man from Madhya Pradesh, who was caught while trying to escape to the neighbour state, said police, adding that the vehicle was also recovered 120 kms from Mumbai after the accused met with an accident on Maharashtra’s Kasara Ghat on the Mumbai-Agra Highway.
Police said the towing vehicle, belonging to the Wadala traffic division, was parked outside its office near the Eastern Freeway in Sewri. “After the daily routine inspection, the towing van’s driver parked the vehicle at the Sewri office and kept its keys inside a cupboard in the office,” said an officer.
Later, the local police station got a call that the towing vehicle had gone missing between 6 and 6.30 pm on Monday. Police launched a search in nearby areas, but to no avail. On scanning CCTV footage, they found out that the towing vehicle was stolen by several unidentified persons.
“We sent a wireless message across police stations in Mumbai and neighbouring districts, following which, we got to know that the stolen vehicle had met with an accident on Kasara Ghat at 3.30 am… We checked/verified the vehicle’s registration number and found out that it was under the ownership of the Mumbai traffic department,” said another officer.
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A team of officials was immediately sent to the spot, and the vehicle was recovered. The driver — identified as Monu Pandit Upadhyay, a native of Devri village in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur district — was detained. It appears that he is “mentally unsound”, said police, who suspect that the accused was escaping to his hometown with the vehicle.
“We got to know that an accomplice of the accused has escaped,” said another officer, adding that police are trying to ascertain Upadhyay’s role in the case and the reason behind committing the crime.
Confirming the developments, Senior Inspector Balurao Ghagare of Sewri police station, said, “We have sent a team of officials to Kasara for further investigation. We are yet to make an arrest in the case.”
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