Mumbai: Police trace, return misplaced phone within 30 minutes in Parel

Laxmi Shantaram (in grey T-shirt) with the cops and her friend (to her right)

The Kalachowki police in Parel traced and returned a mobile phone to its owner within 30 minutes of being approached. They later learnt that the owner was evergreen filmmaker V Shantaram's granddaughter-in-law.

Laxmi Shantaram left her mobile phone in a kaali-peeli taxi that dropped her home on Wednesday night. "Around 9 pm, I left work at our Raj Kamal studio in Parel. On reaching home, I realised I had left my phone in the taxi. I rushed downstairs, but it had left. I used another phone to call on my number, but nobody answered," she told mid-day.

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"Thankfully, the security guard notes down the number of every vehicle entering the society. I rushed to Kalachowki police station and gave the information to Assistant Inspector Rakesh Gawli. They traced the phone within 30 minutes. I am really thankful to them," she added.

Police found the taxi in the Dadar parking zone. It wasn't until officers met the driver, Om Prakash Yadav, that they learnt about Laxmi's relation to the film producer and actor V Shantaram or Shantaram Bapu, who is known for his work in Hindi and Marathi cinemas.

"With the help of the RTO, we were able to contact the taxi owner who gave the driver's number. We called the driver, who found the phone inside the vehicle and was unaware of it till then. He also told us that Laxmi is V Shantaram's granddaughter-in-law," Gawli said. Laxmi said Yadav, while dropping her home, noticed V Shantaram's Mercedes. "Being a huge fan of his, he identified the car and asked me about it. It was then that I told him about my relation with V Shantaram."