Bhubaneswar: In a surprising turn of events, a youth in Bhubaneswar was able to recover his stolen two-wheeler within an hour — all thanks to a traffic violation challan issued by the Odisha Motor Vehicles Department.

The Commissionerate Police swiftly apprehended the accused and recovered the stolen vehicle, bearing registration number OD02 Q7841. Today, the vehicle owner was handed over the two-wheeler after completion of the formalities at the Lingaraj Police Station.

The incident occurred on April 15, when the youth had gone to play cricket at the Mullapadia playground in the Old Town area, under the jurisdiction of Lingaraj Police Station. He parked his two-wheeler near the playground around 12:10 PM. Upon returning about an hour later, he discovered the vehicle was missing.

Despite a thorough search and reviewing CCTV footage from the vicinity, the youth was unable to find any clues about the vehicle or the thief. Left with no other option, he filed a complaint at the Lingaraj Police Station with the help of his family members.

In a fortunate twist, within an hour of the vehicle going missing, the owner received a message from the Odisha Motor Vehicles Department on his phone. The message included a traffic challan for riding without a helmet — along with a photo of the offender on the stolen vehicle.

He promptly showed the message and photo to the police, who traced the vehicle to Athagarh. The accused was arrested, and the stolen two-wheeler was successfully recovered.