The Dindoshi police have solved a dramatic vehicle theft case involving a cleaner who stole his employer’s vehicle and tried to flee to his native Fatehpur district in Uttar Pradesh.
The accused, 25-year-old Nandlal Rajput, switched off his mobile phone to avoid arrest but lost his way without GPS and instead reached Hyderabad. Police traced Rajput using the vehicle’s FASTag and, with assistance from the National Police Coordination Group in Hyderabad, arrested him along with the stolen vehicle.
Rajput had worked as a cleaner with Nancy Impact Consumer Authority District Agency, a Malad-based company, for eight years. During this time, he learned to drive, obtained a license, and often handled local deliveries. On August 27, Rajput was tasked with delivering goods between Malad and Dahisar. The vehicle carried products worth around Rs 2 lakh, and Rajput collected approximately Rs 53,000 in cash payments.
Although some goods remained undelivered, Rajput returned the vehicle to the office by 9 pm. Later that night, he returned, stole the vehicle, and fled. The next morning, when the owner arrived, both Rajput and the vehicle were missing. Attempts to contact him failed due to his switched-off phone, prompting a complaint to Dindoshi police.
Under DCP Anand Bhoite’s supervision, the police recharged the FASTag, which revealed toll deductions indicating the vehicle’s movement towards Hyderabad. When Rajput turned his phone back on, police pinpointed his location. With Hyderabad police’s cooperation, Rajput was detained and brought back to Mumbai.
During questioning, Rajput revealed he intended to return to Fatehpur to care for his ailing parents and use the vehicle to support his livelihood. He was produced before court and remanded to judicial custody.
