[JoseVijay]

Originally Posted by adevilsdoctor

Here is the most interesting thing--the suspect is an IIT chennai graduate according to local media.

As per reports, the thief is employed by ONGC as a sub-marine engineer.

[saurabhdadhichi]

Here is news item covered on nabbing of this thief:

The man who drove off with a Harley Davidson from a showroom in Hyderabad on Tuesday is an employee of state-owned oil major ONGC and a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, the police say.
http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/iit-g...erabad-1214141

[Metallicar]

Sorry to say but the guy works with me. He has done lot of stuff here in offshore also and was recently sent to base for the time being. He has been arrested now along with his father. I don't think his father had any role though. This is a classic case where complaints to seniors go unnoticed and the end result is bad.

[nytsky]

Sad... Premium bike dealers all over the country would have taken cue from this failed attempt to steal and become stringent with test ride rules. I strongly feel this guy is responsible for spoiling the test drive experience in the country, he will learn it the hard way now.

[Guru_DTSi]

I was touring a few showrooms for a daily workhorse for a friend. Two of us visited a couple of showrooms, but none of the showroom guys would allow us to take individual test rides for bikes which cost around 15% of this one. Now, I guess no premium bike can be taken out on solo test ride anywhere in the country.

[Turbanator]

Similar things have happened during test drive of premium cars - one that i remember was for BMW here in north , guy went for an extended drive and drugged dealership person on way .He tried to sell the car next day at abysmally low prices on a car portal - he was in desperate need for cash due to some medical emergency overseas .

Don't know what were compulsions or motive for someone who is pretty much settled and has such a decent background .

[GTO]

Originally Posted by adevilsdoctor

If its a common motorbike its better to claim the insurance and get a new motorbike,rather wasting on travel expenses and other expenses.

In my opinion dealership didn't claim insurance because they wanted to send the message to future thief's.

Some dealers try to cut costs by not insuring unregistered / test-drive vehicles.

He also bought a helmet on the way to the showroom, which is owned by a leader of Andhra Pradesh's ruling Telugu Desam Party.

Easy to see why this case was solved so soon.

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by Metallicar

Sorry to say but the guy works with me. He has done lot of stuff here in offshore also and was recently sent to base for the time being. He has been arrested now along with his father. I don't think his father had any role though. This is a classic case where complaints to seniors go unnoticed and the end result is bad.

Can you elaborate? Is he really from IIT as claimed? AFAIK during any test drive they take a copy of your licence, so did he provide a fake licence or did the showroom goof up?

[Metallicar]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

Can you elaborate? Is he really from IIT as claimed? AFAIK during any test drive they take a copy of your licence, so did he provide a fake licence or did the showroom goof up?

He is Mtech from IIT and works in ONGC. I have not talked to him personally after this since I am in offshore right now and the guy must be somewhere in Mumbai. Maybe in jail.

He had met the incoming crew on Thursday morning ( 03.09.15 ) near Juhu helibase and told them how he came on bike from Hyderabad to Mumbai and may be going back now because of some issue in family. Everyone thought that the bike was his.

Few months back he said that he got himself a Harley and gave us sweets too. Then he had an accident and his parents cancelled the booking of Harley . Till now we thought that it was bought but later came to know that only the booking had been done which is now cancelled.

Simply put the guy is nuts. There are lots of instances here where he has put us on risk. I am glad that this happened. I don't see him coming back to offshore which is a big relief.

[Shubz]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

Can you elaborate? Is he really from IIT as claimed? AFAIK during any test drive they take a copy of your licence, so did he provide a fake licence or did the showroom goof up?

HD store here takes a copy of one's license and credit card as well before letting someone take a test ride. Only if one is already a customer, then all this is not asked for.

so it seems like this particular dealer was keen on making sales numbers so gave away the bike with minimal checks?

Premium bike test riding scene wouldn't really go bad as the brands would now be more careful not to cut any procedural corners.

[Metallicar]

Some more information has come up but may not be fully true.

This guy called the showroom 1-2 days back and inquired about the particular Harley model. Next day went to the showroom but was very drunk and was not allowed test drive. He went there again, sober and was given the test drive. Maybe the showroom guy got convinced by seeing him again ? This time he stole the bike.

Police authorities were convinced that the thief may have genuine interest in that bike because he stole the cheapest model out there. He could have tried the costlier ones too. They searched for all the people who had called the showroom. Called these no.s and everyone answered except him. His phone was switched off. Police went to his home, saw his photo and came to know that they had the right guy and then started mobile tracking and arrested his father too. With mobile tracking they knew of his route to Mumbai and also knew that there are significant chances of him going somewhere near the ONGC offices, helibase etc in Mumbai. With help of CCTV footage they nabbed him.

He is being interrogated. They want to know the reason as the bike could have been bought legally.

[MSC]

It was wrong at part of showroom to simply hand over aa 5 lakh odd priced bike to anyone. Even if it was being followed by a staff member, it simply doesn't makes sense.
Even a moped is not handed over as easily as they handed a harley. Seems a person from showroom probably an insider is hand in glove with accused.

[psn]

Today in TOI it says that they have caught the guy. He is an IIT pass out and works for ONGC with a salary of Rs. 100000 pm. He loved the Harley, but his mother would not let him buy one even though he could afford it. So he stole it. Really dumb..BUT...as I was reading it, I was left wondering. How strong must his love be, for a Harley that he went to this extend? He crossed the line, yes..but on this forum, I am sure everybody understands the feeling of being in love with automobiles...and all of us have at some point done something stupid for them.
Apparently the police are getting him and the bike back from Mumbai.

I wish that the dealer drops the case..if and only if the chap agrees to buy the same bike at the retail price(no discount and no depreciation as its a test vehicle) + compensation to the dealer for the pain he went through in the form of compulsary purchase of accessories from the store.
He did it for love..and love does make you do crazy things.

[MM440]

@ BHAI PSN,
Bhai who are you kidding??? Maybe some of us along with that loony need some psychological assistance. Hope the police send him primarily to a good referral hospital for brain disorders and also try and counsel his family.
From previous posts of his colleague who is our fellow member we earn that he is a walking disaster where ever he is. Please stop standing up for lunatic actions and insult our intelligence and the legal, enforcement, and law agencies of this country.

[psn]

Originally Posted by MM440

@ BHAI PSN,
Bhai who are you kidding??? Maybe some of us along with that loony need some psychological assistance. Hope the police send him primarily to a good referral hospital for brain disorders and also try and counsel his family.
From previous posts of his colleague who is our fellow member we earn that he is a walking disaster where ever he is. Please stop standing up for lunatic actions and insult our intelligence and the legal, enforcement, and law agencies of this country.

I agree, with you that he should be punished. I am also not standing for up for him. Law will take its course.If he is crazy, and has shown behavior outside of this incident which calls for him to get stringent punishment, so he should. All I am commenting on, is the extent we guys can go for automobiles. If he has stolen the bike with criminal intent, then he is akin to any other thief.