Police had also initially launched a probe into the validity of her visa, which they suspected had expired. However the investigation later revealed that the woman has got an extension on her visa till last week of December.A 24-year-old woman from Netherlands was arrested by Satara district police after she allegedly stole a car from Patan town and later rammed into another car as she drove to Karad town on Sunday.
Police had also initially launched a probe into the validity of her visa, which they suspected had expired. However the investigation later revealed that the woman has got an extension on her visa till last week of December. Police officials said that the woman has told them she mainly stayed in Pune during her stay in India till now on a tourist visa.
Police officials from Satara district said that they were conducting a probe into what the woman was doing in Patan town and why did she steal the vehicle in the first place. The woman allegedly stole the vehicle, a jeep, on Sunday afternoon and then drove toward Karad, around 35 kilometres, around 4 pm on Sunday. In Karad down, she rammed the jeep into a WagonR car parked on the roadside in Vijaynagar locality, after having brushes with multiple vehicles as she drove rashly on busy streets. Following the accident, she was detained by the police and later placed under arrest. She underwent a medical examination following the arrest as part of the procedure.
Ajay Kumar Bansal, Superintendent of Police of Satara district, told The Indian Express over phone, “Primary probe suggests that the woman, a 24-year-old Netherlands citizen, stole the jeep in Patan and then drove to Karad. She was apprehended after she caused an accident in Karad. No one has received any serious injury in the accident. We have launched a probe into the incident and are investigating the motive behind the theft, her purpose visiting a place like Patan. We initially suspected that the validity of her visa had ended but later we verified that she has got an extension till the end of December.”
Preliminary information also suggested that she was being chased by the owner of the jeep when she caused the accident in Karad. Officials however said that they were verifying it.
Bansal added, “We are investigating all possible angles behind her visit to Patan, theft of jeep and also what she had been doing during her stay in India, if it has links to the incident on Sunday.” The woman was initially placed under arrest by Karad police for the accident and later by Patan police for jeep theft.