Traffic police tow truck stolen; found near Kasara Ghat

On Monday, the traffic police had parked the towing truck - Tata Xenon, which was registered in the name of DCP, Traffic, near the traffic chowki on the Eastern Freeway in Sewri

MUMBAI: A Mumbai Traffic police towing truck was stolen from the Eastern Freeway traffic chowki on Monday. During the search for the vehicle, the police learnt that it had met with an accident in Kasara Ghat on the Mumbai-Nashik route when they were speeding to get away from the police.

The vehicle had met with an accident in Kasara Ghat around 3.30 am, as the accused were speeding to avoid cops. (Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

The police detained one accused, Monu Pandit Upadhyay, a resident of Devari in Madhya Pradesh as he was injured, while the other accused fled, said the police officer.

On Monday, the traffic police had parked the towing truck - Tata Xenon, which was registered in the name of DCP, Traffic, near the traffic chowki on the Eastern Freeway in Sewri.

Around 6 pm on Monday, the vehicle was parked, however, half an hour later it was missing and after searching for a while in the area, Wadala traffic division lodged a case of theft under section 379 of the IPC with the Sewri police station.

“We checked the CCTV footage of the area, but the cameras weren’t working near the chowki. The key was kept near a cupboard in the chowki, and we suspect the accused who took it must be locals who knew where the keys were kept,” said the police officer.

Meanwhile, assistant police inspector Snehal Sinh Khule who was investigating the case was tracing the vehicle through the CCTV footage at Eastern Freeway and various other locations and travelled towards Kasara on the trail for the vehicle and was eventually informed that the vehicle had met with an accident in Kasara Ghat around 3.30 am, as the accused were speeding to avoid cops.

The police said prima facie the motive behind the theft was to take the vehicle to another state and either to sell it as it was or to sell its spare parts by dismantling it.

“The exact motive will become clear once the arrested accused is brought to Mumbai and the absconding accused is found,” said the police officer.