An FIR was registered against the school Monday, following a police complaint registered by Block Education Officer (BEO) Ramesh V. (Representational Photo/ File)A 21-year-old woman from Vikhroli has been arrested for allegedly stealing the motorcycle of her ex-boyfriend (26), whom her family had accused of raping her a few years ago. The woman told police that she stole the bike in an attempt to get back at the man after he stopped talking to her, following his arrest and incarceration in the rape case.
Police said about three years ago, the then 18-year-old woman and the man, then 23, were in a relationship. However, the woman’s family filed a rape complaint against the man, after which he was arrested.
Police officials said the man was lodged in jail for several months and since his release on bail, he has been trying to rebuild his life. “During our investigation, we came to know that the woman was trying to talk to him again. She may have wanted to restart her relationship with the man, but he was avoiding her and had even shifted his residence,” said the police officer investigating the case.
The woman then allegedly hatched a plan to steal the man’s bike because it would affect his livelihood, as he had started working as a food delivery agent.
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“As they had dated earlier, the woman had a duplicate key of his bike. So, she roped in her male friend and asked him to pick up the vehicle for her,” said the officer, adding, “The male friend then gave her the bike. She drove it to the MHADA colony in Govandi and abandoned it there.” The theft took place in the early hours of September 24, 2021. The owner of the bike registered a case at the Powai police station soon after that.
During their investigation, police checked CCTV footage from the locality. The investigators even shared images of the bike among their informers. Police said they could not find the bike as it was not stolen by a history-sheeter. They finally submitted a closure report in the case on February 21 this year.
“We filed a ‘Summary A’ report before court, which means the case is genuine but remains undetected, and closed the investigation,” said the police officer.
In the meantime, the complainant bought another bike on loan, and started his work again to provide for his family.
But one day the woman messaged the man, promising to tell him the location of his stolen bike if he started speaking to her again. The man then approached the police, who called in the woman for questioning.
“She was brought to the police station for inquiry. Initially, she refused to confess anything but later she admitted (to the theft) and informed us that she had abandoned the bike in Govandi,” said an officer.
The woman was arrested and subsequently, a police team took her to the spot to locate the vehicle. However, they found that the bike was missing.
Later, while inquiring with local residents, police came to know that the Traffic department and BMC authorities had impounded the vehicle as it was unclaimed. The bike was in the BMC’s motor vehicle dumping yard, said police.
“We have written to BMC officials, seeking possession of the bike. We are also trying to ascertain how the bike landed in their yard,” said a police officer. The woman was produced in court on Wednesday and remanded in police custody till Thursday.
Police, meanwhile, are trying to locate her male friend who helped her steal the bike.
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