Former employee steals car from valet parking, caught

A former employee of a firm that operates valet parking in the city stole an Hyundai i20 car after the company “failed to clear his dues”, police said on Tuesday.

The accused, identified as Rajvir Singh, 21, of Dhuri’s Shivpuri, however, has landed in the police net along with the stolen car.

During questioning, the accused attributed reason behind his act to the company’s failure in clearing his pending dues. He said he wanted to defame the firm, that was why he stole the car.

Assistant commissioner of police (ACP) (west) Sameer Verma said Sunil Kumar of Pushp Vihar on Canal Road had on Sunday evening gone to a restaurant opposite to the Punjab Agriculture University gate number 1.

“He handed over his i20 car to a valet and went inside the restaurant. When he came out, his car was nowhere to be found,” he added.

“Valet parking employees told him that the key of his car was also missing from their custody. He immediately alerted the cops. The PAU police then initiated investigation after reaching the spot,” the ACP said.

He added that on scanning footage of CCTV cameras installed near the parking, they spotted the accused fleeing with the car. “Valet parking employees identified him as Rajvir Singh, who used to work with them earlier. A police team on Tuesday arrested the accused during a special checking and recovered the stolen car from his possession,” the ACP said.

“During questioning, Rajvir revealed that he had worked with the valet parking firm for 25 days before leaving the job. He said his dues were pending and the firm owner had refused to clear them. He then hatched a conspiracy to defame the firm,” he added.

The ACP said on Sunday, when all employees were busy in parking vehicles of guests, Ranvir found the i20 parked at one corner of the lot, which appeared to him as a soft target. “He then stole its key and drove away the car,” he added.

A first information report (FIR) under Section 379 (punishment for theft) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against the accused at the PAU police station.

The police are now focussing on his previous criminal record