Car thieves lead cops on Bollywood-style chase

A  hot pursuit, a police official having a narrow escape, one round of firing, a car gone out of control, alarmed pedestrian taking evasive action, the car hitting a divider and finally a brief run — that’s what it took for a team of crime branch officials of Gurgaon Police to nab a duo, allegedly involved in a car-theft racket.

And it all happened at an intersection near the Select City Walk mall in south Delhi’s Saket area on Saturday (May 9) noon, said a police source on Monday.

The nearly two-and-a-half hour long chase started around 10.10 am from Sahihabad in Ghaziabad, where the team of Gurgaon Police officials reached to nab alleged car thieves – brothers, Abhijit Chaudhary and Hitesh Chaudhary – based on a tip off. But by the time they reached the duo’s residence, they spotted the duo going out in their Hyundai Accent car. They headed towards Anand Vihar, moved past NH-24 to reach the Press Enclave Road in south Delhi, where the duo finally realised that they were being tailed by cops, said the source. The cops stopped the Chaudhary duo at an intersection there and asked them to roll down their window, which they refused and instead stepped on the accelerator . After that, the police team reportedly failed to intercept them at two consecutive traffic signals. Finally, one constable pulled out his gun and shot at the car’s tyre. The chase apparently ended and another constable approached the duo’s vehicle, said the police source.

However, the Chaudhary duo pushed the accelerator once again and allegedly swerved their car towards the constable, who had to jump aside to save his life. The duo – who veered out of control with a deflated tyre by then – soon took a U-turn, hitting an unoccupied autorickshaw and turning it turtle. The vehicle then almost climbed a pavement, making pedestrians make a mad scramble to save their lives. It finally crashed on a divider. However, the chase did not end there. The Chaudhary duo then de-boarded the crashed vehicle and started running. Another brief chase began there and soon they were overpowered by the cops. The Chaudhary duo were booked under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty) and 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public function) of IPC at the Saket police station.

The duo was later produced before a Delhi court, from where Gurgaon Police took them into custody with a transit remand, the police source added.