Drunk man flees with police vehicle in Jalna, tracked down 90km away in Sambhajinagar’s Paithan

CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: A man, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, fled with a police vehicle from the taluka police station in Jalna, and was tracked down nearly 90km away in Paithan, of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, on Monday morning. The incident was confirmed by police officers in Jalna as well as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

According to a police officer, "The incident occurred in the early hours after a patrolling team returned to the taluka police station on completion of night rounds. The driver of the police vehicle reportedly went to freshen up, leaving the vehicle parked within the station premises, with the keys inside."

The police said the accused had come to the police station to lodge a complaint against another person, who allegedly misbehaved with him. However, noticing that he was under the influence of alcohol, the station duty officer asked him to return later after regaining sobriety.

The police said the man stepped out of the station and got into the parked police vehicle. He then started the vehicle and drove away. It took some time for the police personnel to notice that the vehicle was missing. Once they realised that the vehicle had been stolen, a search operation was launched. The police personnel checked footage from CCTV cameras installed outside the police station and used the vehicle's GPS tracking system to trace its location.

The vehicle was tracked to Paithan, located around 90km from Jalna. The Jalna police alerted their counterparts in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar rural police, who laid a trap and intercepted the vehicle. The vehicle was recovered without any reported damage.

When intercepted, the accused was still under the influence of liquor, the police said. He was taken into custody and brought back for further legal action. He was sent for medical examination.

"When asked, the man said that though he did not come in a four-wheeler to the police station, he still believed it to be his four-wheeler and started driving it," said a senior police officer from Jalna police.

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