Scooter thief falls for ‘friendship’ trap of victim’s daughter, arrested

PUNE: Ajay Yadav was smart enough to steal Parvej Manyar’s scooter on the pretext of a test ride. But Manyar’s daughter was smarter to trap him on a social networking site and ensure recovery of the two-wheeler and also Yadav’s arrest.
A few days after Yadav, alias Rahul Prajapati (22), had run away with the scooter on December 16, he accepted the friend request from a college student without realising that she was Manyar’s daughter.
While chatting, she told Yadav that she wanted to buy a scooter. He offered her the scooter at a throwaway price and they decided to meet near Sambhaji Garden on J M Road to seal the deal on Monday.
As Yadav reached the spot, Manyar and his son nabbed him and the Khadki police took him into custody. Yadav is originally from Madhya Pradesh and currently living in Pune. Manyar, a transport operator from Bopodi, said his son had put up an online advertisement to sell the scooter for Rs32,000.
On December 16, Yadav met Manyar’s son next to the petrol pump near their house. “Before handing him the scooter, my son had taken his photograph,” Manyar said.
As Yadav wished to take a test ride, Manyar’s son sat pillion. “Yadav later said he would like to ride it alone. My son allowed him, only after taking a copy of his Aadhaar card. But Yadav did not return,” he said.
“My son received texts from Yadav that he should transfer Rs 15,000 into his bank account if he wanted the scooter back,” said Manyar, who lodged a complaint with the Khadki police and started tracing the suspect with his son too.
He took help of his daughter after finding Yadav on the site. The police said Yadav worked with a private firm. “We found a cellphone on him that he had stolen from a woman in Vishrantwadi,” an officer said.