On November 2, a Twitter user by Sandhya Ramesh, who is a science writer based in Bengaluru, had accused Bengaluru Police of stealing her sister's two-wheeler from the parking space of her apartment and later charging a fee to get it back.
"Last night at 3:30 am a policeman took my sister's scooter from the apartment parking. This morning, at the Frazer Town deppt where the vehicle was, we were told that someone had tried to steal it and the police help prevent that and brough it back from Ulsoor Lake to the station. So we had to pay a 'neglegence fee' cash only, no receipt, recorded as police case + hearing," she had tweeted.
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Sandhya also claimed of spotting the cop "stealing" the vehicle in the CCTV footages near the apartment. "I came back home and saw that the security camera has actually caught the cop in action. He snuck in near the apt, made sure to look in and confirm the guards weren't looking, and then took the vehicle. Has this happened to anyone else? [sic]."
After the social media post went viral, the Twitter handles of DCP Traffic East and Bengaluru City Traffic had assured of taking necessary action based on the complaint.
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But when a Facebook user asked for the comment of Bengaluru City Police about the incident, they claimed that the vehicle was found abandoned and was taken to the custody in order to prevent theft.
"#Fact ; It was an unlocked abandoned vehicle taken to the custody to prevent theft. After police verification vehicle had been released to the owner. Action taken as per the KARNATAKA POLICE ACT [sic]," Bengaluru City Police posted on Facebook.
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However, Sandhya reacted: "Update: so police says this. Possible if thief was dressed as cop but we still weren't given receipt etc."
Later, Ajay Hilory, IPS, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, East division tweeted: "It was an unlocked abandoned vehicle taken to the custody to prevent theft. After verification vehicle had been released to the owner [sic]." He added that the action was taken as per Karnataka police act.
It was an unlocked abandoned vehicle taken to the custody to prevent theft. After verification vehicle had been released to the owner . pic.twitter.com/BFntkqexpR
— AJAY HILORI, IPS (@DCPEASTBCP) November 4, 2017
The writer has also accused the police officials of sharing her address with media persons, who turned up at her door to get more details on the incident. "TAKE THIS DOWN! WHY ARE YOU TWEETING OUT MY ADDRESS??? WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? [sic]," she tweeted.
Read the viral post of Sandhya here:
So looks like Bangalore police's new trick is to steal vehicles from apartment parking lots and then charge a fee to get it back. pic.twitter.com/6iJgTHASGL
— Sandhya Ramesh (@sandygrains) November 2, 2017
Here's the CCTV footage shared by Sandhya:
That's him checking on the guards. I have more and from different angles also. pic.twitter.com/KKTgsu2GKY
— Sandhya Ramesh (@sandygrains) November 2, 2017