A man was detained by the Noida police on Sunday, March 3, after he allegedly fled with a Mahindra Thar while pretending to test drive it, police officials told PTI.
According to authorities, the incident happened on Saturday, March 2, in Noida Sector 63. The car was later recovered.
"Accused Mohit Chawla had taken the Mahindra Thar for a test drive on Saturday but did not return after which the plaintiff lodged a complaint against him at the local police station," a police spokesperson said to PTI. (Also Read: Gang which hacked and stole high-end cars in Delhi-NCR arrested in Greater Noida)
The spokesperson added, "An FIR was lodged under IPC section 379 (theft) and an investigation was launched, leading to the arrest of the accused from Block C of Sector 63 today (Sunday). The Thar was also recovered from his possession."
The accused was previously booked in similar cases in Delhi and Noida, police said.
{{/usCountry}}The accused was previously booked in similar cases in Delhi and Noida, police said.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, a man was booked for allegedly fleeing with a vehicle hired from an app-based rental service. The complainant, a Ghatkopar West resident Chaitanya Raut, 28, stated that he put his vehicle on the rental app in May of last year. According to a police officer, Raut's car was rented on multiple occasions between May 2022 and June 2023. The company paid Raut's rent once the customer returned the vehicle. (Also Read: Chandigarh: Vehicle lifting gang busted with arrest of three)
According to the complainant, the suspect rented the car for five days, from July 18 to July 22, and was expected to return it by one in the morning on July 22. Raut got an SMS saying that his car had pulled into the Powai Road parking lot at Kailash Business Park in Vikhroli West. However, after an hour he stopped receiving the vehicle's location on his phone as the GPS was taken out of the car.
The victim then gave a written application to the Park Site police station and after verification, the case was registered under the charges of 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.