BENGALURU: A woman’s gearless scooter, left for servicing at a centre on Bannerghatta Road, was stolen on July 9, according to a police complaint filed by the facility’s manager seven days later.
Yeshaswini of Bommanahalli had purchased the vehicle — a Yamaha Passion — by paying a little more than Rs 1 lakh in October 2021. She left it at Laxmi International, a Yamaha showroom-cum-service centre, near Arakere Gate, on July 8 and the service centre staff asked her pick it up the next day.
However, the scooter, which according to the service centre staff was parked outside the main gate, was stolen on July 9 afternoon.
Yeshaswini’s fiancé Darshan S said the matter came to light when they visited the service centre in the evening. “We called the person concerned at the service centre and they said the vehicle was not ready as there was some technical issue to be addressed. We found that they were not answering our questions properly. So we visited the showroom and found out the vehicle was stolen,” he said.
According to Darshan, the service centre staff said they would file a police complaint. After much delay, the general manager, Sateesh, did so on July 16 night.
“Manager Sateesh filed the complaint saying Yeshaswini’s two-wheeler was washed and kept outside the showroom on July 9. The two-wheeler went missing from the place between 12.45pm and 4pm. CCTV footage shows a man riding away with the vehicle,” the FIR reads.
When contacted by TOI, Sateesh said: “I am outside, call me tomorrow during working hours.”
An investigating officer said the CCTV footage shows a man wearing a mask riding away with the vehicle. “Showroom staff had parked it outside the gate. CCTV at the service centre does not cover this area. Fortunately, there is a CCTV camera installed in a shop opposite and from there, footage of the man was taken,” the cop said.
Police said it is not clear if the ignition key was left in the parked vehicle. But another officer said most of the time, vehicles parked outside service centres have the key on them. “There are many instances of such vehicles, including four-wheelers, being stolen from parking lots. In such cases, the service centre staff should be held responsible for negligence,” he said.
