Man held for stealing tempo in Palghar

Palghar, Sep 21 (PTI) Police have arrested a man allegedly involved in the theft of a tempo and recovered the vehicle valued at Rs 22 lakh from his possession in Maharashtra's Palghar district, officials said on Sunday.

The incident occurred on the night of September 7 when a 32-year-old local resident was transporting a soap-loaded tempo to Chiplun in Ratnagiri district on the instructions of his employer.

While he was driving towards Talasari after refueling at Chinchoti, two unidentified men intercepted the temp near Mouje Dapchari, snatched the vehicle keys, and forcibly made the victim sit in their car, an official said.

The accused then drove him towards the Gujarat border, but he managed to escape under the cover of darkness when the vehicle halted near a roadside hotel for food.

The man could not find the tempo and lodged a complaint at Talasari police station, the official said.

After an inquiry, the police detained a man from the neighbouring Thane district on September 15. During sustained interrogation, he confessed to committing the crime along with an accomplice, the official said.

The accused was arrested and the stolen tempo was recovered. Efforts were on to trace the other accused, the police said. PTI COR GK