HYDERABAD: Posing as a great lover of motorsports with a deep passion for Harley Davidson motorbikes, a man strode into a posh Banjara Hills showroom on Tuesday and rode away with his 'test drive' bike, right in front of a bewildered staff.
The showroom staffer who was following the 'test-driving' rider tried to keep up with the speedster, but eventually gave up as the mint-fresh Rs 6-lakh Harley disappeared into the horizon.
Around 2.30 pm, a 25-year-old man entered the store and identified himself as a software engineer. "Hi, I would love to go for a test drive, as I am planning to buy one soon," the young professional, who identified himself as Syed Tahir, told officials.
After trotting around in the showroom for a while, Tahir, wearing a new cream-coloured shirt, tight jeans and sporting a cap, stopped at a 'Street 750' model valued at Rs 6 lakh.
"He seemed intelligent and was very suave in his appearance, and they (showroom staffers) did not think anything was wrong when they agreed to his request for a test drive," Banjara Hills inspector P Murali Krishna said.
As part of the 'test-drive' process, store officials asked him to display his driving license,which he promptly flashed along with a credit card. Tahir said he would pay the money after the test gets over. "They noted down a mobile phone number given by him, but did not check his address, which he said was in Jubilee hills," inspector Krishna told TOI.
Tahir also agreed to the test-ride route, which is a round trip from the showroom to Jubilee Hills checkpost and back. After starting the bike Tahir did not take a U-turn in front of the showroom at Sagar Society T junction, but sped off straight towards Nagarjuna Circle.
"An employee of the showroom follows a test rider on another bike but the con man gave him the slip by going straight. The employee tried to follow him, but got stuck in the traffic at the signal on road number 2," the inspector said.
The completely befuddled showroom employees waited for an hour, hoping that their prospective customer guest would return with the bike. But after realising that they were duped, the showroom management called the cops and gave them CCTV footage of the offender. Based on the complaint lodged by showroom representative, Mrudusheela, police registered a case under sections 380 (theft in a building) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC.
The showroom officials confessed that the stolen bike did not have a GPS tracker. A manhunt has been launched to nab the offender, but till the time of going to Press the bike thief had not been apprehended.
The showroom staffer who was following the 'test-driving' rider tried to keep up with the speedster, but eventually gave up as the mint-fresh Rs 6-lakh Harley disappeared into the horizon.
Around 2.30 pm, a 25-year-old man entered the store and identified himself as a software engineer. "Hi, I would love to go for a test drive, as I am planning to buy one soon," the young professional, who identified himself as Syed Tahir, told officials.
After trotting around in the showroom for a while, Tahir, wearing a new cream-coloured shirt, tight jeans and sporting a cap, stopped at a 'Street 750' model valued at Rs 6 lakh.
"He seemed intelligent and was very suave in his appearance, and they (showroom staffers) did not think anything was wrong when they agreed to his request for a test drive," Banjara Hills inspector P Murali Krishna said.
As part of the 'test-drive' process, store officials asked him to display his driving license,which he promptly flashed along with a credit card. Tahir said he would pay the money after the test gets over. "They noted down a mobile phone number given by him, but did not check his address, which he said was in Jubilee hills," inspector Krishna told TOI.
Tahir also agreed to the test-ride route, which is a round trip from the showroom to Jubilee Hills checkpost and back. After starting the bike Tahir did not take a U-turn in front of the showroom at Sagar Society T junction, but sped off straight towards Nagarjuna Circle.
"An employee of the showroom follows a test rider on another bike but the con man gave him the slip by going straight. The employee tried to follow him, but got stuck in the traffic at the signal on road number 2," the inspector said.
The completely befuddled showroom employees waited for an hour, hoping that their prospective customer guest would return with the bike. But after realising that they were duped, the showroom management called the cops and gave them CCTV footage of the offender. Based on the complaint lodged by showroom representative, Mrudusheela, police registered a case under sections 380 (theft in a building) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC.
The showroom officials confessed that the stolen bike did not have a GPS tracker. A manhunt has been launched to nab the offender, but till the time of going to Press the bike thief had not been apprehended.
No comments:
Post a Comment