Mumbai: Cops trace cycle thief in 48 hrs; teen thanks them with letter, puts up banner

Aditi, an Andheri West resident, also distributed sweets among the cops and participated in their Republic Day celebrations.

Thirteen-year-old Aditi Deepak Sawant was so overjoyed at the fact that the DN Nagar police managed to catch hold of the thief, who had stolen her bicycle, within two days of the incident, that she reached the police station along with her parents on Republic Day to thank them and hand over an appreciation letter to senior inspector Bharat Gaikwad for their good work. Aditi, an Andheri West resident, also distributed sweets among the cops and participated in their Republic Day celebrations.

Not only this, she has also put up a banner praising the cops' work at a traffic junction in DN Nagar. Her father Deepak Sawant even tweeted a picture of Aditi handing over the letter to inspector Gaikwad, tagging the Mumbai police commissioner and home minister.

Speaking to mid-day, Aditi said, "I always wanted to have a bicycle, but when I asked for one, my parents set a target for me to achieve only after which they promised to get me one. After two years of hard work, in 2018 when I achieved the target, they gifted me the bicycle, hence it is very precious to me. I was very sad on the day it was stolen. I was in Karjat with my father when my mother called me and informed that the cops had caught the thief and recovered my bicycle. That is when I decided to thank them."

She further said, "After returning, on Republic Day we went to the police station and distributed sweets among the officers. We also gave them an appreciation letter for their fantastic job. As more people should know about this, I have put up a banner appreciating their hard work near my grandmother's house in DN Nagar."

Aditi's mother Asha said, "Considering the amount of work the cops have nowadays, I had absolutely no hope that they would catch the thief so quickly. The cycle was stolen on January 22 and I gave them a CCTV footage the next day. The cops caught the thief on January 24. The footage was not that clear and even the thief's face was not visible. I really appreciate their work and thank them for recovering the cycle."

When contacted, senior inspector Gaikwad said, "A 13-year-old girl thanking the police for their work and putting up an appreciation banner has really touched our hearts. It's a proud moment for us."