[johannskaria]

The famous blue Wagon R, 'AAP Mobile', used by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been reported stolen - from right outside the government's headquarters in the capital.

Mr Kejriwal asked on Twitter about where Delhi Police's "dhyan" or attention is focused. Police on Thursday received a complaint regarding the same.

“We received the complaint at around 3:30pm today after which we started investigating into the case,” said Mandeep Randhawa, Deputy Commissioner of police.

The Wagon R, gifted by an Indian living abroad, was dubbed the "AAP Mobile" and got plenty of mileage in the news when the Chief Minister used it to camp and sleep in during a controversial protest against the Delhi Police in 2014.

The blue car was used by the Aam Aadmi Party or AAP to demonstrate its commitment to fighting VIP culture and of standing with the little guy. It was used by Mr Kejriwal during his campaign for the first election he contested; it remained his vehicle of choice when he was first made Chief Minister.

[condor]

I thought the donor of the car had already demanded it be returned to him. He still had it ?

[johannskaria]

Originally Posted by condor

I thought the donor of the car had already demanded it be returned to him. He still had it ?

Wasn't it donated?
How fair is it ask a donation back?

As far as I know it wasn't loaned.

[SmartCat]

The donor of the car probably took it back.

How do thieves steal a modern car equipped with engine immobilizer? What are the tools required?

[saket77]

Originally Posted by smartcat

The donor of the car probably took it back.

How do thieves steal a modern car equipped with engine immobilizer? What are the tools required?

Obviously I am not adept with the 'stealing techniques' but I think they come with new ECU with a paired key. Swap the ECU & the key cylinder and you are good to go! Or may be NGT towed the old car away

Plus this was a 1.1 ltr Wagon-R -Picture attached!. Possible that this car came without an immobiliser since it was one of the earlier models?

[condor]

Originally Posted by johannskaria

Wasn't it donated?
How fair is it ask a donation back?

was there a gift deed ? or was it transferred ? From earlier news, the donor had asked it be returned due to his nautanki's

[johannskaria]

Originally Posted by condor

was there a gift deed ? or was it transferred ? From earlier news, the donor had asked it be returned due to his nautanki's

Seems it was transferred, a basic check gives the following details

DL9CG9769 [DWARKA,DL]
Owner:2-AAM AADMI PARTY
Vehicle:WAGON R LXI(PETROL)
L.M.V. (CAR)
RC/FC Expiry:04-Aug-20
MV Tax upto:NA
-Courtesy:MoRTH/NIC

Legal right to ask back now is unknown.
But i think it was just another press stunt to get attention to the donor's point of view.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by smartcat

How do thieves steal a modern car equipped with engine immobilizer? What are the tools required?

I recall reading a detailed methodology involved with stealing cars with immobilizer in one of the newspapers.

As Saket mentions, these thugs carry a nice briefcase with ECU inside it and couple of cables.

They disconnect the Primary ECU of the actual car to steal and connect the coupler to this one in ten suitcase and do the trick. They have done this successfully for the Innovas too when this appeared.

Reminds me, this model that was stolen didn't have immobilizer (iCats) if I remember. The last known year before the next facelift was 2006 (that is when I also bought mine).

Also, strange to see this car stolen in Delhi. If Mumbai, I may presume it is because of the 4 Cylinder rule for CNG Taxies and why we see WagonRs (F10Ds), Santros, i10 and Eecos.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Chief Minister's car stolen from the Secretariat? Is there any politics (or political gimmick) behind this? And this blue color is uncommon for Wagon R. Can it not be quickly spotted by police?

Originally Posted by paragsachania

As Saket mentions, these thugs carry a nice briefcase with ECU inside it and couple of cables.

They disconnect the Primary ECU of the actual car to steal and connect the coupler to this one in ten suitcase and do the trick. They have done this successfully for the Innovas too when this appeared.

Interesting piece if information. To steal the car this way, the thieves need to open the door first (to open the bonnet). In many vehicles including Wagon R, this is easy. But how easy (and time consuming) is it to change the key cylinder on the steering column?

Someone possibly replaced the key cylinder on the Chief Minister's car and stole the same. And this went unnoticed?

[volkman10]

Arvind Kejriwal’s Maruti WagonR is back.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s Maruti WagonR, which went missing two days ago, has been recovered. The car was found abandoned in Ghaziabad, near Delhi. Police officials are trying to nab the accused by examining CCTV footage. The accused is said to be visible in the CCTV footage captured at the time of abandoning the car.

link

[saket77]

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

Interesting piece if information. To steal the car this way, the thieves need to open the door first (to open the bonnet). In many vehicles including Wagon R, this is easy. But how easy (and time consuming) is it to change the key cylinder on the steering column?

Someone possibly replaced the key cylinder on the Chief Minister's car and stole the same. And this went unnoticed?

In fact, changing the key cylinder is not required, more so if the car doesn't have an immobiliser like this particular case. You just need to splice some wires going to the key cylinder. Sort of making a direct connection.

Reminds me of our old Fiat 1100D whose key cylinder went kaput. It would switch on the ignition mode but not turn the starter motor. I employed two techniques to start the car - using a screwdriver to make a 'short' between the two points which actuated the self starter. The other technique was kind of interesting. There is a switch under hood. Just press that switch and starter would fire!

I was 12 years old at that time when I discovered these stuff on my car and mind you, there was no internet or google!

Wonder what professional thieves can do in this era!

Regards,
Saket.

[Doge]

Originally Posted by saket77

Obviously I am not adept with the 'stealing techniques' but I think they come with new ECU with a paired key. Swap the ECU & the key cylinder and you are good to go! Or may be NGT towed the old car away

Plus this was a 1.1 ltr Wagon-R -Picture attached!. Possible that this car came without an immobiliser since it was one of the earlier models?

Attachment 1685018

It did come with an immobilizer.
What I find weird is that who would think of stealing a car out side the Delhi Secretariat, that too the one belonging to the CM?
It is just a lot of trouble for a car that would not be even worth 25k to the thieves.
Maybe it is a politically motivated.

[dailydriver]

Media reports state that the theft could have been the handiwork of a joy rider. Meanwhile, while looking at the photo of the lost and found car, I noticed that it is missing the LHS ORVM.



A little digging on the internet led me to these two photos:



(My driver won't use it anyway. So I keep it folded)




(Why have it when we don't use it!)

PS:
1. All photos are from the internet. Credit to the respective photographers/owners of the images.
2. Comments in parentheses are mine.

[saket77]

Is this the same Wagon R? Roof rails are missing.

[Nissan1180]

It is a bit ironic that there are members here who think this is a political stunt. Why would someone steal a WagonR? Because it is simple. When we had a 118NE for daily use (till 2008), our car was broken into 4 times despite there being more expensive cars all around. The reason was that it was easy to break into, without any security alarms. We lost the original RC book, a leather bag and a couple of car perfumes.

In a country where even Panchayat chiefs travel in Fortuners, I find it hard to believe that people do not appreciate a gentleman who uses a WagonR despite being a chief minister. If his car can be stolen, everyone can suffer the same fate.