Bhubaneswar: Drunk acts often land one in trouble. A 36-year-old man from the Capital City learnt it the hard way. Early Thursday morning, when a group of policemen intercepted Chandan Kumar Basantia near the Puri Bypass junction for riding a red Activa scooter without a helmet, they realised that the two-wheeler had been reported stolen from near Mula Padia area of Old Town the previous night while generating a challan.
They informed the Lingaraj police station, which immediately detained Chandan. However, Chandan’s quizzing helped solve the riddle. Lingaraj Police Station inspector-in-charge (IIC) Purna Chandra Pradhan, who questioned Chandan, said it was more a mistake committed by the drunk man rather than any intention to steal the vehicle.
Pradhan said Tuesday afternoon, one Soumesh Swain had parked his red Active scooter near Mula Padia while playing cricket with his friends. “In the meantime, Chandan, in an inebriated state, mistook Soumesh’s scooter for his own due to similarities in the vehicle’s colour. He then drove it off, ” Pradhan said.
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When Soumesh discovered his scooter missing, he lodged a complaint at the police station. Meanwhile, Pradhan said Chandan drove the two-wheeler to his friend’s house in Cuttack, where he realised his mistake. “On Thursday morning, Chandan rushed back to Bhubaneswar to leave the scooter at the place from where he had taken it.
However, he ran out of luck when cops caught him for riding helmetless,” Pradhan added. Interestingly, following the disclosure, the Lingaraj police decided to drop vehicle theft charges against Chandan as he didn’t have a criminal past. They allowed him to go wth a stern warning to mend his ways.
PNN
