In a real life edge-of-the-seat thriller, South Mumbai couple gets their stolen car back as they chase thief all the way to Gujarat via tracking system; intrepid cops move fast
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The computer has changed everything. That is why when husband-wife couple Chandru and Rupal Khemlani felt a momentary darkness in their lives, thanks to a missing car,u00a0 it was only transient. After a few panic-stricken moments, Rupal put on the computer in the house and her room and life was once again filled with purpose and brightness.


Track it back: Chandru and Rupal Khemlani with their children and the
Pajero car at Marine Drive Police Station. pic/SURESH KK

On Diwali, October 26 morning, South Mumbai businessman Chandru looked out of a flat in a building right opposite the Cricket Club of India (CCI), and found to his shock that his new Pajero car that he had parked outside the building on Dinshaw Vachcha Road was missing. Said Chandru, "We are Altamount Road residentsu00a0 but were staying at a relative's house for a few days during Diwali. Just one day before Diwali, my wife and I went out and returned fairly late at night. We were shopping and had bought loads of boondi laddoos from Tiwari, the store at Opera House as we had a Diwali pooja at my office in Prabhadevi on Diwali day. We had left the laddoos in the car."

Horror
Chandru says, "I woke up fairly early and went to the window of the flat. I looked up expecting to see my Pajero there. To my horror it was not where I parked it. After it registered that it has been stolenu00a0 I woke up my wife - it took me some time to convince her that it had been stolen. I then set off for Marine Drive Police Station to register a First Information Report (FIR). I believe in quick thinking and quicker action."

Computer
While Chandru was off to the police station, his wife, Rupal switched on the computer. The Rs 26 lakh car, bought on Dussehra day in fact, just a few days prior to Diwali was equipped with a state-of-the-art General Positioning System (GPS).u00a0The screen came to life and Rupal started tracking the car via satellite with computer imagery showing her exactly where her car was being taken. While Chandru was with the Mumbai police, Rupal was tracking the car on computer. It had already been gone for a few hours, when she had started trackingu00a0and it was evident that the thief was headed out of the city and Maharashtra state.u00a0 Rupal traced the car going towards Vapi (Gujarat). Say Chandru and Rupal, "We know Gujarat like the back of our hands. Several of our work projects are done in Gujarat. At about 8 am, the computer showed the car stopping. The thief stopped at a dhaba on the way, maybe to eat his breakfast. We could even guess the dhaba."

Freeze
Meanwhile, Chandru says, "We were talking on the phone to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hindustan Trackers, Himanshu Bhatt. He told me that his office had become a command centre for my car. He added that he could 'freeze' the car immediately. He said to me, "Give me orders, and I can stop your car from moving right now." The thief will be unable to take it further." Yet, there was trepidation. If the car stops abruptly, the thief would have realised there is something wrong and run away or damaged the car. Chandru says, "We had two choices - either to freeze the car then and there, or trail it to catch the thief. I am a man who likes to nip the problem in the bud - go to the root of the problem, so to speak. I decided to follow the car and catch the thief."

With Rupal tracking the car on the computer, Chandru set off in pursuit with two cars and a police team from Marine Drive police station. Rupal and Chandru explained that the shortest route out of Maharashtra is Gujarat, "In a mere three hours one can leave Maharashtra and reach Gujarat and that is where most stolen cars are headed at first."u00a0

Chase
The computer showed that the Pajero had entered Vapi. Rupal saw that the car was parked at 8.33 am at a place called Siddhant Parking lot in Vapi. It was learnt later that the thief gave the car keys to the parking lot owner saying, "I will come back in two days." The thief disappeared after that. The Mumbai police along with Chandru reached the spot in Vapi by 12.30 pm. The Mumbai police posted two persons to guard the car they had secured it, "aamhi gaadi tabyaat ghetli" is common police lingo for that. The Mumbai police team along with the Gujarat team co-ordinated and approximately at 4 pm the same day, with all formalities completed, Chandru and theu00a0 police team came back to Mumbai with the stolen Pajero.


Cops are tops: Chandru and Rupal (looking over his shoulder) praise
the police

Return
The car was at the Marine Drive police station for a couple of days till formalities like going to the Metropolitan Court were completed. After a few days of back 'n' forth between Marine Drive police station and home, Chandru and Rupal Khemlani finally got back possession of their car on November 3. They laugh as they say, "Ours was quite a story. Our children's friends came in saying they wanted to see the car, whether the thief was caught, how he was caught... etc. Our friends rib us saying we should write a thriller, about how we got the Pajero back."

The thief has also been caught (see box: Lessons Learnt) and the car is a four-wheeled testament to persistence. At the heart of it all, is a system called the GPS, which proved that there is a (sate)llite at the end of every dark tunnel.

What the cops say
The Mumbai police website has a piece warning drivers about car theft. While most of these tips are known and certain instructions like parking in a secure facility are impractical in a city, where cars outnumber parking spaces, it is worth a read, to give one an idea about the magnitude of car theft across the city. See this link: http://www.mumbaipolice.org/tips/vehicle.htm