Noida police detained a man on March 3, for allegedly fleeing with a Mahindra Thar under the pretense of taking it for a test drive, PTI quoted police officials as saying.
The incident took place on March 2 in Noida Sector 63, where the accused, Mohit Chawla, took the Mahindra Thar for a test drive but failed to return. Subsequently, the car was recovered, and a complaint was lodged against Chawla by the plaintiff at the local police station.
"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. Following the incident, an FIR was filed under IPC section 379 (theft), prompting an investigation that led to the arrest of Mohit Chawla from Block C of Sector 63 on Sunday. The stolen Mahindra Thar was also recovered from his possession. Notably, the accused had previously faced charges in similar cases in both Delhi and Noida, according to the police.
In a recent incident, a man faced charges for reportedly absconding with a vehicle rented through an app-based rental service. The complainant, Chaitanya Raut, a 28-year-old resident of Ghatkopar West, had listed his vehicle on the rental app in May of the previous year. According to police officials, Raut's car was rented multiple times between May 2022 and June 2023. The company compensated Raut once the customers returned the vehicle. The complainant alleged that the suspect rented the car for a five-day period, from July 18 to July 22, with the understanding that it would be returned by 1 a.m. on July 22. Raut received an SMS indicating that his car had entered the Powai Road parking lot at Kailash Business Park in Vikhroli West. However, after an hour, the location updates ceased as the GPS device was removed from the vehicle.
Following this incident, the victim submitted a written application to the Park Site police station. After verification, a case was registered against the suspect under charges of criminal breach of trust {Section 406) and cheating (Section 420) of the Indian Penal Code.