Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s creaky blue Wagon R, which was stolen from outside the Delhi Secretariat two days ago, has been found abandoned in Ghaziabad, the police said on Saturday.
The humble hatchback, Kejriwal drove around in his early political career and which helped cement his position as the “aam aadmi”, was being used by an AAP functionary before it was stolen.
The Delhi Police said their counterparts in Ghaziabad got in touch with them regarding the car.“A blue Wagon R has been found abandoned by Ghaziabad police and we think it is the chief minister’s car,” said a senior police officer.
The police are verifying its engine and chassis numbers. Kejriwal had yesterday written a letter to Lt Governor Anil Baijal, saying the theft points towards the
rapidly “deteriorating” law and order situation in the national capital.
The incident had outraged AAP workers, many of whom posted videos of Kejriwal using the car, especially on Republic Day in 2014, after he became the chief minister of Delhi for the first time.
The car was witness to two assembly election wins in 2013 and 2015 and also to the party’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls.It was “donated” to Kejriwal by Kundan Sharma, a software engineer, in January 2013.
However, when Kejriwal parted ways with his then party colleagues Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, Sharma demanded that the vehicle be returned. Even after Kejriwal became the chief minister in December 2013, he refused to use an official car and preferred his old Wagon R.