Lost and found: a stolen scooter, thanks to a traffic challan and a Twitter post
Hyderabad man receives challan showing his stolen vehicle and the person riding it, tags police on social media.
Hyderabad stolen scooter was recovered after the owner identified his vehicle in a traffic challan image and alerted police via social media, triggering swift action. (Express Photo)
Written by:Janyala Sreenivas
2 min readApr 10, 2026 09:09 AM IST
First published on: Apr 10, 2026 at 09:09 AM IST
The Hyderabad Police have tracked down a two-wheeler stolen three months ago after its original owner alerted them on X (formerly Twitter) that he had received a traffic violation fine notification – which clearly showed his vehicle and the person riding it.
The vehicle owner had lodged a complaint with the Habeeb Nagar police station after his two-wheeler was stolen from outside his house. He said that although he regularly followed up with the police station, they were unable to find his vehicle. Last week, he received a notification on his phone about a traffic violation bearing his vehicle’s registration number.
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He said that when he clicked the link, he saw not only his vehicle but also a clear photo of the man riding it without a helmet. He alerted the Hyderabad Police by posting the challan and photo and tagging their social media handles. As the post went viral, police swung into action.
Inspector T Purushottam Rao of Habeeb Nagar police station said that using traffic and security cameras, they tracked down the vehicle parked outside an eatery in Attapur. “The person seen in the challan photo riding the vehicle did not steal that vehicle. It was his younger brother, an alcoholic, who stole the vehicle. That brother was recently admitted to the rehabilitation centre. As the vehicle was lying idle at their home, the brother, a veterinary assistant, started using it. Although he did not steal it, it is still an offence because he knew it was a stolen vehicle and still decided to use it. Both brothers are seen as offenders. We have not released the names because they appear to be first-time offenders,” the inspector said.
After due process, the vehicle will be returned to its rightful owner.
Hyderabad stolen scooter was recovered after the owner identified his vehicle in a traffic challan image and alerted police via social media, triggering swift action. (Express Photo) 
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