The Kanpur IG range, Mohit Agarwal has ordered a probe after it was found that the SHO of Kanpur’s Bithoor town had been using a car, which was stolen two years ago, for personal use. Confirming that using a seized vehicle was against the law, Mohit Agarwal assured that the entire case would be inquired into and whoever is found responsible would face serious departmental action.
The incident came to the fore when a Kanpur man named Omendra Soni received a call from an auto service centre asking for his feedback about the service of his car that was stolen two years ago. Not only this, but the service centre also informed Soni that the serviced car was returned to Kaushlendra Pratap Singh, a station officer at the Bithoor police station.
Incidentally, Kaushlendra Pratap Singh was one of the cops who got injured in the Bikru ambush, in which Vikas Dubey and his men had killed eight police officers on July 3 last year.
It was only because the SHO had taken the car for service that the matter came out.
The car was stolen on December 31, 2018, informed the Kanpur resident
Omendra Soni confirmed that his vehicle was stolen from the Barra area from a car washing centre on December 31, 2018. He said he had lodged an FIR with the Barra police but the vehicle could not be found.
On Wednesday, Soni got a call from the KTL service centre to ask him if his car was working fine after its service a few days ago. It surprised him as his vehicle was stolen from a car washing centre in the Barra area on December 31, 2018, he said.
“I was surprised at the query. I was told my details were with the centre due to a previous servicing of my Wagon R, that is why the call was placed for feedback,” said Soni.
When Soni learnt from the service station that the car was returned to the SHO of Bithoor police station on December 22, 2020, he was left to wonder why the police did not inform him about having recovered his stolen vehicle.
The accused SHO said he had seized the car after he had found it abandoned
Meanwhile, the SHO was reported as saying in his defence that he had seized the car after he had found it abandoned. The officer, however, did not elaborate on when the vehicle was found. Moreover, when questioned on how a police officer could use a seized vehicle as it was against the rule, Singh kept mum.
According to the procedure, as soon as the car was seized, Bithoor police should have informed Barra police about the recovery of the car, since the missing car complaint was filed in Barra police station. However, Barra police confirmed that it did not receive any intimation from Bithoor police.
The police have now ordered an inquiry into the case.
