Any thief would love to drive away with a brand new car, but most of them won’t dare to try their luck at showrooms. But Pilakal Nazir, 53, alias Nazir is an exception to the rule.
Nazir drove away with a brand new Nissan Terrano, worth Rs10.69 lakh, from a showroom in the city without the showroom staff noticing the theft. The incident happened on New Year’s Eve. Nazir was nabbed this month, thanks to some youths who were drinking tea at a stall situated near the showroom.
The eye-popping incident unfolded on New Year’s Eve.
A customer, who wanted to welcome the new year with an SUV, booked a Nissan Terrano with Shahwar Nissan, located on Kasturba Road. The customer was told that he would get the keys to the vehicle on New Year’s Eve.
But when the customer came to pick up his car, the showroom staff were shocked out of their wits when they found out that the SUV was missing. Even the security guard had no idea as to who drove away the car.
The showroom management filed a complaint with the Cubbon Park police. The police began quizzing each employee of the showroom, and zeroed in on Pilakal Nazir, a habitual car thief.
“There was no CCTV in the showroom. There is a tea stall next to the showroom where some youths saw a brand new SUV going out of the showroom on New Year’s Eve. The witnesses said they had seen a person driving away the new SUV,” the police said.
“Based on their description, a sketch of the accused was drawn. After three portraits were made, one of the constables said he had seen a person who resembled one of the accused in the portrait. Then the police cross-checked with records and zeroed in on Nazir,” the police explained.
The police also looked at the footage of the surveillance cameras at traffic junctions. The footage showed the stolen vehicle moving towards Bangalore South. “Nazir stays at BTM Layout and he was taken into custody. Then he confessed to the theft and took us to the covered SUV that was parked near his house,” the police added.
But the big question is: How did Nazir pull this off?
Nazir told the police that kept a close eye on the goings-on in the showroom for 5-10 minutes. He noticed that no one was paying any attention towards the SUV. Then he went close to it, but was not questioned by the staff. “The car was washed a few minutes ago and its key was kept on a table near the car. He just took the key, sat inside and sped away,” the police said.
Nazir was earlier working as a security guard in Dubai. He returned to the city a few years ago and began working as a guide for people coming from West Asia. He was involved in several cases of car theft in the city and also in Mumbai and Tamil Nadu.
Habitual offender
Nazir had made away with a brand new car when it was unloaded from a truck near Blue Hyundai showroom in Kengeri on Dec 29, 2012. “He claims that he resorted to stealing to arrange money for the cancer treatment of his 19-year-old son,” the police said.
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