Kasauli man held for theft of garlic-laden pickup

The Solan police arrested a 24-year-old villager from Gosan near Kasauli for stealing a garlic-laden Mahindra pickup vehicle, following a swift investigation involving CCTV footage and highway surveillance.

Solan SP Gaurav Singh said Yashpal Sharma, a resident of Sirmaur, lodged a complaint at Sadar police station stating that his Mahindra Pickup (HP-64-5498), parked outside his rented room in Shamti, Solan, had gone missing. The vehicle, parked at around 12:10 pm the previous day, contained 15 sacs of garlic. When Sharma came out the next morning, both the vehicle and garlic were missing. The pickup is valued at approximately Rs 3.5 lakh, while the garlic was worth Rs 10,000.

A case under Section 379 of the IPC was registered, and the police launched an investigation using CCTV footage and technical inputs. The accused, Virender, was identified crossing the Parwanoo-Solan toll plaza early in the morning. Acting promptly, the police tracked and arrested him.

Based on Virender’s confession, the stolen vehicle was recovered from Sector 26, Chandigarh, where he had abandoned it after selling the garlic at the local grain market. The vehicle has since been taken into police custody. Further probe revealed Virender’s involvement in a previous theft case.