Pot-jacking driver confesses kleptomania, returns plant

Vadodara: After all the virtual brouhaha about the stolen potted champa from outside a café on Old Padra Road, the SUV driver on Saturday contacted the café owner to apologize and said the theft was an ‘act of habit, not ill-intended’.

So far so good, but what was even heart warming was the gesture by the café owner, who melted with the confession of kleptomania and buried the hatchet over an invite for a cuppa and a return gift — the potted plant of champa! All well that ends well, and the video too was removed from its social media profile.

Mental health is a condition anyone can succumb to so we should be of help to anyone who needs support,” said Kashyap Jain, owner of Brew 13 café.

“After the video became viral and the incident grabbed a lot of attention in the city, the person approached us and apologized. As I had expected, he told us that he has this condition so we are not holding any grudges against him,” said Jain and adding, “I had mentioned earlier too, that if that person will come forward to return the plant, we will offer him a coffee, but we also offered him to keep the plant too, as a small gesture if it makes him get over the condition of kleptomania.”

Since the SUV driver realized his mistake, the café not only removed the CCTV camera’s video from their social media profile but also put up a post stating that they have accepted his apologies with open arms and invited him for a cup of coffee.

The café has also appealed to social media users to pull down the viral video and not to share it further to respect the man’s privacy.