A chance phone call from the police led to a Kerala man rushing out of his house for a dramatic adventure to recover his stolen car. Wayanad native Eliyas TV made headlines in Kerala for chasing a thief for over 40 kilometres across the Kozhikode-Mysuru highway.
The incident took place on the afternoon of September 29 and Eliyas was at his Sultan Bathery residence when he received a call from the Meenangadi police. The inspector on the line asked him to urgently pay a fine for overspeeding on the highway. A puzzled Eliyas replied that his car, a three-year-old Innova, had gone for servicing and that he was at home. He then politely asked the cop to charge a fine from the man who was over-speeding, instead of asking him.
Things took a dramatic turn right after this phone call, as Eliyas realised that his car had been stolen from the service centre, and the man who was driving his car was a thief, who was possibly over-speeding to dash out of the state. CCTV visuals from the service centre on the highway show the thief sneakily driving away the Innova at 12:40 pm on Tuesday.
Watch: Thief steals car from service centre in Kerala’s Wayanad. Car owner chases him down and recovers vehicle. pic.twitter.com/vVIZc3c1am
— Sreedevi Jayarajan (@Sreedevi_Jay) October 2, 2020
“The thief had been stopped by the interceptor car for speeding at Krishnagiri. But he escaped and then the police got the vehicle details and rang me. Immediately after they hung up, I called the inspector and informed him that the car was stolen. Alerts were then sent to all neighbourhood police stations to track down the vehicle,” Eliyas told TNM.
The Bathery native knew that there were several routes to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu from the Wayanad border and therefore, tracking down the vehicle without police intelligence would be a challenge.
Soon after a complaint was filed, Eliyas, his son and his office staff took Eliyas’s other vehicle - a Ford Ecosport - and drove around in search of the Innova. As they reached Matappara rocks near Ambalavayal, they spotted the Red Innova darting past them on the opposite side of the highway. This is when Eliyas swiftly stopped, reversed the vehicle and was hot on the wheels of the man who stole his car.
Within five kilometres, the thief drove into a pocket road, to possibly use a non-highway route. In his hurry, the thief also knocked down a few bikes parked on the road, in front of a store.
— Sreedevi Jayarajan (@Sreedevi_Jay) October 2, 2020
“My staff jumped out of the car and ran behind the Innova. I was behind the wheel and trying to chase the thief. Some locals too were running behind the vehicle but to no luck. He managed to drive away with the car,” Eliyas told TNM.
Visuals of this dramatic chase started circulating on social media and WhatsApp, and show Eliyas driving the Eco Sport while a man (his staff member) clinging on the Innova to stop the thief from driving away.
Unfettered by a failed first attempt, Eliyas chased the Innova for another 15 kilometres until they found the car at Vaduvanchal, near Meppadi.
“The Meenangadi police alerted the Meppadi police that the stolen car had entered its station limits. Meanwhile we chased the car down and spotted it parked between two vehicles in an under-construction site in Vaduvanchal. The thief had been missing and was later found hiding inside the forest behind the building,” Eliyas added.
Police officers later came and arrested the man, and the heavily damaged car was recovered with the help of local residents. The thief was identified as a Bengaluru native Pilakkal Nasir, a repeat offender with over 30 cases against him in Bengaluru. According to the Meenangadi police, the accused had stolen another car from Kozhikode and abandoned it after realising that the vehicle had an in-built GPS tracker. A case has also been registered against Nasir at Meenangadi. Meanwhile, the Innova owned by Eliyas has sustained severe damage on all four sides during the chase.
“We are yet to inspect the damage to the vehicle. Outside, it looks considerably battered. I have to give it to the service centre to see if any important parts have suffered damages,” Eliyas added.