Cuttack man steals govt AC bus from CMBT; traced and nabbed in Andhra Pradesh
As novel as the target was, it turned out to be a fool’s errand, as the Chennai police tracked the vehicle – and Sahoo – using the GPS device on board, and nabbed him with the help of Andhra Pradesh police
CHENNAI: Some petty thieves steal bikes and cars, and then there are those like Gyanaranjan Sahoo, who decided to go for broke and stole a swanky new air-conditioned bus belonging to the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) from the parking bay at CMBT, Koyambedu, on Thursday.
As novel as the target was, it turned out to be a fool’s errand, as the Chennai police tracked the vehicle – and Sahoo – using the GPS device on board, and nabbed him with the help of Andhra Pradesh police.
The incident came to light on Thursday morning when the driver and conductor came to take the bus but found it missing. Depot Manager Ramsingh filed a complaint with the CMBT police, based on which the police checked the CCTV footage and saw a man driving away the vehicle.
With the help of the GPS tracker onboard, officials traced the bus to Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. The police set up barricades to intercept the vehicle. Seeing this, the driver abandoned the vehicle and attempted to flee but was chased and caught.
Sahoo, a 24-year-old from Cuttack in Odisha, is speech and hearing impaired, said officials, adding that he was working as a daily wage labourer in the city. The intentions behind his stealing the bus are not known yet, and a preliminary probe has revealed that he had no associates.
He was initially detained at Nellore police station and later handed over to the Koyambedu police. Sahoo and the bus he stole were brought back to Chennai. He was produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody on Friday.
