Lockdown: TN man steals bike to get home, couriers it back to owner

On Sunday, Suresh Kumar, a resident of Coimbatore, received a call from a courier office, saying that his bike was ready to be delivered to his house. He realised that it was his bike that was stolen two weeks ago. The person who stole the bike couriered it back to the owner, to the address found in the Registration Certificate of the vehicle.

According to reports, Prasanth (30), a resident of Mannargudi, was working in a bakery in Coimbatore. On May 18, he had stolen a bike belonging to 34-year-old Suresh Kumar of Sulur, Coimbatore, allegedly to go to his home in Mannargudi town in Tiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu.

Suresh had parked his bike near his lathe workshop in Kannampalayam Pirivu when it went missing. Around 1 pm on May 18, when Suresh realised that his bike was missing, he approached the Sulur police with a complaint. However, he was allegedly told that since the police were busy with COVID-19 work, the investigation on his case would begin only after the lockdown was lifted.

Suresh, hence, decided to comb through the CCTV footage around the spot where his bike went missing. The visuals retrieved from a CCTV camera in a shop near the lathe workshop showed a man fleeing on Suresh’s bike. Suresh, who inquired with the persons nearby and had reportedly circulated the visual on WhatsApp, found out Prasanth’s details.

When Suresh went to check Prasanth’s house in the village he was staying on the outskirts of Coimbatore, he was told that Prasanth had left for his native town and was not available.

Prasanth, meanwhile, after reaching Mannargudi reportedly realised that he has been traced by the owner.

On Sunday afternoon, Suresh received a call from a courier office in Sulur that his bike was ready to be delivered. Prasanth had, apparently, couriered Suresh’s bike to the address found in the Registration Certificate of the vehicle, allegedly fearing legal repercussions.

Suresh, however, had to shell out Rs 1,400 as ‘Luggage and Packaging charges’ to get his bike. He also told the media that he will not be pursuing the case and that his bike was in good condition.

The News Minute