An on-duty traffic constable in Mumbai was targeted in a shocking incident when two unidentified men on a motorcycle snatched his e-challan machine in broad daylight and fled. The incident occurred around 12:42 pm on Wednesday, 25 June 2025, at Hari Om Junction in Mulund (East). A case has been registered, and police have launched a search for the culprits.
According to Navghar Police, the complainant, Constable Laxman Rathod, 49, has been serving in the Mumbai Police since 2007 and is currently posted with the Kanjur Traffic Division. On the morning of the incident, he reported for duty at 7 am and was deployed with e-challan machine number 21 at his assigned post.
While managing traffic at the junction, Rathod spotted two men riding a motorcycle who jumped a red signal while coming from the Thane side. He used the e-challan machine to take a photo of the bike for issuing a challan. As he attempted to take a second photo, the two men approached him. They asked to see the photo, and as Rathod showed it to them on the device, the pillion rider suddenly grabbed the machine from his hand. When Rathod tried to stop them, the same rider pushed him away, and the duo sped off toward Mumbai on their motorcycle. The constable, startled by the incident, was unable to remember the vehicle’s number plate.
Rathod immediately informed the traffic control room and then hired a taxi from a nearby stand to pursue the suspects. Despite searching the area, he could not locate them. He then visited the Kanjur Traffic Division outpost and joined Police Inspector Jhende to continue the search, which extended up to Sonapur Junction in Bhandup (West), but the suspects remained untraceable.
Meanwhile, the traffic control room tracked the last known GPS location of the stolen e-challan device to the Nexa Service Centre in Mulund (West). The officers rushed to the location but found no sign of the culprits. Around 1:30 pm, the device was switched off, making further tracking impossible. CCTV footage from nearby locations was reviewed, but no useful evidence was found.
Following this, Rathod lodged a formal complaint at Navghar Police Station. In his statement, he described both suspects as men between 30 to 35 years of age, of medium build, and wearing purple turbans with kirpans over their shoulders. The rider was dressed in a black shirt, while the pillion rider, who snatched the device, was wearing a black-and-white shirt.
The stolen device is a white e-challan machine manufactured by Pine Labs. The Navghar Police have registered an FIR and are continuing their investigation to trace the suspects and recover the stolen machine.