New Delhi, Oct. 12: Rumours that the iconic Batmobile had been pinched from under Batman's nose during the filming of Batman vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice in 2014 had turned out to be a hoax.
But the AAPmobile has had no such luck.
The blue WagonR that came to be known as the AAPmobile during the Aam Aadmi Party's days of anti-corruption crusade was today stolen from the parking lot of the Delhi secretariat - Players Building - this afternoon.
AAP media coordinator Vandana Singh, who now drives the car, had parked it at the secretariat and gone inside for a meeting. Grainy footage from a CCTV camera showed that a man walked up to the car and drove away with it.
The WagonR, donated to the AAP by UK-based banker Kundan Sharma's wife Sharadha, had been used by Arvind Kejriwal during his first stint as Delhi chief minister for 49 days in 2013.
During a dharna near Parliament in 2014 against police for refusing to participate in a vigilante raid on African women suspected of peddling drugs in south Delhi, the Maruti hatchback had served as Kejriwal's makeshift office where he signed files and conducted government work.
Before the 2014 polls, AAP Haryana convener Naveen Jaihind had been given the WagonR for campaigning.
For almost two years now, it was being used by AAP media coordinator Singh.
She told The Telegraph today: "I went in for a meeting at the secretariat at 11.45am after leaving the car at the parking lot near gate No. 3. When I came back at 2.30pm, it was not there. I complained to the police, which examined CCTV footage that showed it being driven out at 1.04pm. I feel terrible that something that is so dear to our party was lost when it was in my hands."
After the split between Kejriwal and Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan in 2015, banker Sharma had publicly asked the AAP to return the car, a motorcycle and the money Sharadha had donated, accusing the party of deviating from its principles of transparency.
Police officers said the CCTV footage was too grainy to identify the thief. They said several teams had been formed to find the car.
More than 100 vehicles are stolen in Delhi every day and less than 10 are recovered.
The AAP hit out at Delhi lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal, to whom the police report.
Party MLA and secretary of the AAP's Delhi unit, Saurabh Bharadwaj, tweeted: "LG sir, instead of creating problems in work of elected Delhi Govt, work on Delhi Police. CM's car got stolen from Secretariat."
