Mumbai, Apr 7: Saeed Suleman, the owner of the popular sweet shop Suleman Usman Mithaiwala, lost his KTM racer bike in the wee hours of Wednesday and reported the matter to police.
He did not rest there, and launched his own probe with the help of friends and acquaintances and managed to recover the bike within four days, reports Mumbai Mirror.
Saeed Suleman, 32, had parked his Rs 1.35-lakh worth racer bike outside his shop nf Mohammad Ali Road.
"I was at the shop until late eveing on March 31, and decided to leave the bike at a parking slot nearby for the night. When I returned to the shop at 7 the next morning, I saw the bike was missing."
Suleman rushed to the Pydhonie police station to submit a complaint,and was assured by the cops that his vehicle would be found soon.But instead of waiting for the police to act, Suleman decided to launch a parallel probe.
He spoke to workers in the shops around his establishment, gathered clues and asking them about any suspicious people they may have seen in the vicinity on the night of March 31.
He called several of his friends and alerted them of the theft, asking them to keep a lookout for the KTM racer, which could be easily distinguished by its bright orange wheel-rim.
The first breakthrough came the same night,when Suleman was in Byculla.
"Around 9.30 pm,I saw a boy - he was wiry,and looked barely 16 - zooming past on a motorbike with an orange wheel-rim,remarkably similar to mine."
Suleman gave chase on a scooter but it was no match for a racing bike, and the boy soon disappeared out of the sight.
Suleman had noted down the vehicle's registration number,which was not the same as his,and went to the RTO office in Tardeo to find out about its owner.
"I discovered that the registration number was of a Honda.It was obvious that the number-plate on the KTM was fake,"he said.
Though there were no leads for the next two days, Suleman got a call from a friend in the middle of the night on Tuesday, saying a bike similar to his was parked outside Hindu Gymkhana at Marine Lines, and that a couple of boys were standing beside it.
He alerted the cops,and rushed to the spot, carrying with him details such as his bike's engine and chasis numbers.
"When I reached, the bike was still parked there, and a boy was standing next to it, as if he was the owner.
"I confronted the boy but he became aggressive, insisting that the bike was his.
"Once I checked the engine number, his game was up,"Suleman said.
The police have arrested the boy, a minor, and have sent him to a remand home in Dongri.
The boy is now saying that he was sold the vehicle by an acquaintance, which the cops are verifying.
Suleman will get his motorcycle back once court formalities are completed.
Sub-inspector Ayaz Patel from Pydhonie police station praised Suleman's perseverance.
"He didn't give up.His efforts helped immensely,"he said,before hastily adding,"Of course,we would have found the motorbike anyway."
