Car thief smells cop trap, kicks khabri and escapes

A police informer is nursing his wounds as he was kicked out from a moving vehicle and three motorists were left with damaged vehicles, after a police trap to nab a notorious car thief fell apart on Monday night. In the high voltage drama that took place in Ghatkopar, the thief gave the local police a slip and fled.

Police informer sets up a meeting to buy a vehicle from the car thief at R-Mall, Ghatkopar at 10 pm on Monday

Posing as a prospective buyer, the police informer (name withheld for security reasons) negotiated a deal with the car thief to purchase a stolen car, and set up a meeting at R-Mall in Ghatkopar. The information was relayed to the Ghatkopar police, and a team of around dozen detection cops took positions at the designated spot at 10 pm.

Seated in the passenger seat, the informer tries to escape by opening the moving car's door, but the thief grabs onto his right arm and restricts him from jumping off. In the process the out of control SUV rams into two bikes and a four-wheeler

"After the thief arrived in a Tavera, the informer occupied the passenger seat. The informer alerted us of the development via an SMS. As we approached the Tavera to nab the thief, he smelt something amiss. He stepped on the accelerator with the informer in tow and zipped towards the highway," said a police officer, on condition of anonymity.

As his grip begins to loosen, the thief kicks the informer out of the vehicle and flees. Illustrations/Amit Bandre

Edgy with the turn of events, the informer opened the left front door of the vehicle to jump out. But the accused clutched onto his right arm, steering the vehicle with just one hand. In the ensuing tussle the out of control vehicle rammed into two bikes and a four-wheeler, damaging them in the process.

The brawl continued for a few seconds and when the accused's grip around the informer began to loosen, he kicked him out of the speeding vehicle. "Thankfully, the informer landed on the side of the road. Had he been flung onto the middle of the street, there were chances of him being run over," added the officer.

Some cops took care of the injured informer while the remaining gave chase in a police jeep. After trailing him for a kilometre, the Tavera disappeared from sight. The vehicle was later found abandoned near Amrut Nagar in Ghatkopar. "We seized the car after which we learnt that the car was stolen from the area that falls under the jurisdiction of Vartak Nagar police station in Thane," said Rajkumar Kothmire, inspector at Ghatkopar police station.u00a0