BHOPAL: In a bizarre incident that has attracted widespread attention, a nursing officer in Bhopal received an e-challan for her stolen scooter, only to discover that the traffic camera had captured someone wearing a police-style uniform riding the vehicle.
The incident began on August 22, 2026, when 32-year-old Neelu Sahu, a nursing officer at Hamidia Hospital, parked her Honda Activa outside the hospital before reporting for duty. When she returned approximately half an hour later, the scooter had disappeared.
Her bag, containing an iPhone, PAN card, ATM card and car keys, was also reportedly stolen. She lodged a complaint at Kohefiza Police Station, and investigators began examining CCTV footage, which showed a suspect in a white shirt taking the scooter away.
The E-Challan That Changed Everything
On September 2, Sahu received an unexpected traffic e-challan notification on her mobile phone. Her stolen scooter had been caught jumping a red light at Roshanpura Crossing in Bhopal. What shocked her was the photograph accompanying the challan. It showed a person dressed in what appeared to be a female police officer’s khaki uniform riding her stolen scooter. The photograph immediately raised questions about whether a police officer was involved in the theft or whether someone was impersonating a policewoman.
Additional DCP Shalini Dixit initially clarified that investigators could not confirm whether the uniformed rider was actually a police officer. Police began examining additional CCTV footage to establish the person’s identity.
The Mystery of the Fake Police Officer
The investigation subsequently took an unexpected turn. According to a September 11 report in Dainik Jagran, Kohefiza police arrested a suspect accused of impersonating a police officer and stealing vehicles, including Sahu’s scooter. The suspect reportedly lived in rented accommodation in Bhopal’s Karond area and allegedly used police uniforms to impersonate law-enforcement personnel.
The e-challan photograph and CCTV footage provided important investigative leads. The case also exposed how misleading viral photographs can be. Although social media posts suggested that a female police officer had been caught riding a stolen scooter, the initial photograph alone did not establish that the rider was a genuine police officer.
How a Traffic Camera Helped Solve the Case
The incident highlights the investigative value of automated traffic enforcement systems. When the stolen scooter crossed a red light, the camera captured its registration number, location, time and the person riding it. Since the vehicle remained registered in Sahu’s name, the e-challan was automatically sent to her.
The very system designed to penalise traffic offenders thus provided evidence in an unrelated vehicle-theft investigation. By combining traffic-camera photographs, CCTV footage and vehicle registration records, investigators were able to develop leads that reportedly contributed to the suspect’s arrest.
The Bhopal case demonstrates how digital surveillance, automatic number plate recognition and electronic traffic records can support criminal investigations. The thief may have escaped with the scooter, but one red-light violation reportedly helped police catch up with the suspect.
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