MUMBAI: Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde's daughter tracked down her brother-in-law's vehicle on Saturday night, within 48 hours of it being stolen from Lower Parel on Thursday.
A large posse of cops, including those from the crime branch, had been assigned to find the missing SUV, but before they could make a headway, Shinde's daughter, Praniti, suddenly spotted the vehicle in Bandra; following a chase and high drama, the thieves abandoned the SUV near a slum in Bandra (W) from where it has been recovered.
Praniti, however, denied her presence during the chase. "Only my driver was there," she said. But the police claimed otherwise.
The Pajero belongs to Raj Shroff, a businessman and general secretary of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee, who is married to Preeti, one of the daughters of Shinde. On Thursday night, the family's driver, Vijay Kharat, parked the vehicle near his home at Bawala Compound, Lower Parel. He had intended to drive it back to his employer's residence, but the next morning, he found it missing. Kharat lodged a theft complaint with the N M Joshi Marg police on Friday, following which all control rooms in the city were alerted with the missing vehicle's registration number.
While the cops hunted high and low for the SUV, Praniti, who is an MLA from Solapur, spotted it at the Lilavati Hospital signal on Saturday night. "Around 11pm, Praniti left the Shinde residence at Pali Hill in Bandra in her CRV. She was headed to Worli for some work and was accompanied by her police security officer, Abhang; the vehicle was driven by Kharat. As they reached the Lilavati Hospital signal, Praniti suddenly spotted the stolen Pajero a little ahead. Confirmed by Kharat that it was indeed their missing vehicle, Praniti decided that she and her security officer would confront the person driving it," a police officer said.
Praniti's SUV chased the Pajero, overtook it and blocked its path; Abhang knocked on the rolled-up windowpane. "The two men inside the SUV panicked and put the vehcile in reverse gear, heading back towards north. Praniti's vehicle also turned around and started chasing it," the officer said. Meanwhile, Abhang called up the police control room and informed them about the incident. Shortly, Praniti reportedly noticed a patrol van in the Bandra locality and alerted the policemen who also joined in the search.
A few minutes later, they found the Pajero abandoned near Lal Maati slums, but its occupants had vanished, said the police, adding that slippers, likely to belong to the accused, were found inside.
No CCTV camera covers the stretch but Abhang had had a look at the suspects. The NM Joshi Marg police, to whom the recovered vehicle has been handed over, will prepare identity sketches of the accused. Experts have found some fingerprints in the vehicle.
Police said the car could be traced easily as the accused hadn't changed its numberplate.
Shinde's daughter traces brother-in-law's SUV
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