BHUBANESWAR: A 19-year-old youth was arrested by Chandaka police on Sunday on charges of stealing a car by towing it with another vehicle that he had hired from a rental service.
The accused, Mandeep Choudhury, is a resident of Indraharinagar in Angul district. Police recovered both cars, a white Maruti Suzuki Dzire, which was stolen and later found in a damaged condition, and a blue Maruti Suzuki Dzire that had been hired from a self-drive car rental service.
According to police, a case was registered at Chandaka police station following a written complaint of one Sudarshan Nayak about the theft of his white Maruti Suzuki Dzire. An investigation was subsequently launched.
The stolen car was recovered in a damaged condition around 3 km from the spot of the incident. During investigation, Chandaka police examined CCTV footage and found that the stolen car was being towed by a blue Maruti Suzuki Dzire. The accused had allegedly covered the number plate of the blue car with black tape in an attempt to evade detection.
Police used technical surveillance to identify the registration number of the blue vehicle. With the help of the CCTV control room, the vehicle was tracked and located at Kalpana Square on August 20, following which it was brought to the police station.
Further investigation revealed that Choudhury had hired the blue car from a self-drive rental agency and allegedly used it to carry out the theft. He later returned the rented vehicle to the agency.
Police matched the photograph of the person who had hired the vehicle with CCTV footage and identified Choudhury as the suspect. After conducting raids at multiple locations, the accused was arrested.
Police sources said the accused is allegedly a habitual offender and has four previous cases of similar vehicle thefts registered against him at different police stations in the capital city. He was produced before a court, while further investigation is underway, police said.
