Investigators are trying to understand why would anyone steal a fighter aircraft tyre especially when it cannot be used on any roadworthy vehicle.
In a bizarre case of theft, unidentified persons stole the tyre of a Mirage fighter aircraft from a moving trailer at Shaheed Path in Lucknow. The trailer was delivering five tyres of the combat fighter jet from Bakshi Ka Talab Air Force Station on the outskirts of Lucknow to the Jodhpur Airbase.
The incident reportedly happened in the wee hours of November 27 but came into the public domain late Thursday. Around 2 am, the trailer driven by Ajmer-resident Hem Singh Rawat was headed towards Kanpur via Shaheed Path. At Shaheed Path, the trailer was stuck in a traffic pile-up. During this, the miscreants who were in a Scorpio SUV stole a tyre from the trailer by cutting the rope and fled. The driver could not stop the miscreants because of the traffic on the road. He informed the police, but by then the thieves had escaped.
The police are scanning through CCTV footage from the area for clues about the thieves. The police is also examining footage from the route between the Bakshi Ka Talab Airbase to the crime scene.
Rawat was detained by the Indian Air Force personnel when he reached the Jodhpur Air Force station with the remaining four tyres and questioned in detail. Rawat has been contracted by the Army to transport material between army bases and airbases. According to defence sources, the driver was questioned because he had access to sensitive areas and theft of this nature poses national security concerns.
Investigators are groping in the dark to understand why would anyone steal a fighter aircraft tyre especially when it cannot be used on any roadworthy vehicle. The investigation into the mysterious theft continues. Probably there is more to the case than meets the eye.
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