Nagpur: The ongoing war in West Asia has not spared even a thief as a water tanker he had stolen had to be abandoned midway thanks to an empty fuel tank and an unforgiving fuel crisis. Nagpur rural police cracked the theft case in just four hours, recovering the vehicle worth nearly Rs25 lakh on Monday after the accused’s escape plan quite literally ran out of fuel and luck.According to police sources, on Monday, Anshuman Tiwari (28), owner of a cement plant, lodged a complaint at Wadoda police station near Mouda that his tanker (MH 31 CQ 7353), which had been operating at the plant a day earlier, was stolen from the parking area around 5pm. A case was registered, and under superintendent of police Harssh A Poddar and additional superintendent of police Anil Mhaske, Wadoda police sprang into action. Using technical evidence, mobile phone tracking, and intelligence inputs, they quickly identified the prime suspect — Tilochan Kumar (30), a labourer from Rajnandgaon district in Chhattisgarh.Tilochan had gone missing from the labour camp and switched off his mobile, a move that raised immediate suspicion among investigators. Based on his last known location, police teams rushed to the area near Itwari railway station in Nagpur.Investigations revealed that the accused drove the tanker around 25km towards Nagpur, intending to take it to Chhattisgarh to sell it. However, the tanker ran dry midway and with fuel in short supply due to the ongoing West Asia crisis, Tilochan was unable to arrange diesel. He abandoned the vehicle near Itwari railway station and waited nearby hoping to refuel later and resume his journey. However, that was not to happen. Police tracked him down. During interrogation, he confessed to stealing the tanker worth Rs25 lakh.The entire operation — from complaint to arrest and recovery — was completed in just four hours by the police team under assistant PI Manoj Gudade. Further investigation is underway to determine whether the accused was involved in similar incidents earlier too.
