A 22-year-old driver has been arrested in Noida after allegedly stealing a car from a Sector 18 multilevel parking facility and taking it to Etah to impress his estranged wife, police said. The accused, identified as Arun, allegedly told her that he had bought the car.
According to police, Arun is originally from Sonसा village in Etah’s Bagwala police station area and lived in a rented house in Chhijarsi, Sector 63, Noida. He worked as a driver. During questioning, he allegedly told investigators that he had been involved in a dispute with his wife, who had travelled to Etah after the argument. He said he stole the car to persuade her to return and to impress her.
The stolen vehicle belonged to a tattoo artist from Ghaziabad. Police said she had parked the car at the Sector 18 multilevel parking facility on September 12 before going for an interview. Arun allegedly took the vehicle from the parking facility and drove it to Etah.
After learning that a theft case had been registered, Arun allegedly left Etah and went to his sister’s home in Kannauj. Police said he switched off his mobile phone during this period. He was arrested after returning to Noida.
Sector 20 police arrested Arun near an empty plot on the road from Attapeer towards DLF Mall. The vehicle was fitted with a fake number plate, while its original number plate was recovered from the boot, police said. Investigators added sections related to cheating and possession or use of stolen property to the case after recovering the car and the fake plate.
The case was registered at Sector 20 police station after the vehicle was reported stolen. Following questioning, the accused was produced before a court, which sent him to jail. The police account does not establish whether the accused had prior criminal cases or how access to the parking facility was obtained.
In a separate incident reported in the same area, a car belonging to Nikhil Agrawal, a resident of a Sector 45 housing society, was allegedly stolen near the society’s main gate. Agrawal had parked the vehicle late on September 12, and it was found missing the following morning. Police said CCTV footage showed two suspects walking near the gate in the early hours. A case has been registered on the basis of his complaint, and the investigation is continuing.
