BHUBANESWAR : A girl on Tuesday tried to make away with an iPhone worth Rs 1.4 lakh from a store at Saheed Nagar here on Tuesday and led the staff to a chase to her home before her family had to shell out the money for the phone.
The accused, around 20 years of age, visited the store in the afternoon and selected the phone. She told the staff that she was ready to buy the phone but her ATM card was not working. She requested the staff to carry a point of sale (PoS) machine and collect the money from her house in Saheed Nagar by swiping her father’s card.
“I was about to leave for the customer’s house on my motorcycle but she asked me to accompany her in her car. On the way, she stopped near a filling station, gave me a bottle asking me to get fuel worth Rs 100. However, as soon as I stepped out of the vehicle, she sped away along with the PoS machine,” the store staff said.
Another staff, who was following them on a two-wheeler to bring back his colleague after collecting the payment, chased the girl till her house. They then informed the police about the matter following which the girl was summoned to Saheed Nagar police station for questioning. Police also scanned the CCTV footage of the store in which the girl could be seen leaving with the iPhone.
“The girl’s mother is missing for the last three years and her mental condition is not stable. Her father and elder sister arrived at the store and paid for the mobile phone,” said an officer of Saheed Nagar police station.
Sources said the girl’s father is a retired government employee and currently working with a private firm.
The store owner Gyanaranjan Mohapatra said though the girl’s elder sister paid for the mobile phone, the family is yet to return the PoS machine.