[DeKay]

It started yesterday, the 12th of August at 10.22am, in Andheri, Mumbai.

I was leaving my house to go out for some work and I noticed that a white Hyundai Xcent with yellow plates was right behind me as I was driving out of my society.

Before you ask me why I checked, let me tell you I don't know the answer to that. Maybe because I watch too many movies/TV Shows or if it's just instinct, I almost always check my mirrors to see if there's anyone following me or if there's anything untoward happening. No, I'm not involved in anything illegal, no I'm not rich, no I don't owe anyone any money, I'm just a regular 26 year old that doesn't know why he would be followed.

Back to the story - The white Hyundai Xcent behind me was a facelift model, I know this because it had DRLs. Anyway, I get out of my society, turn left, he turns left too. Which is normal, because I live on a fairly busy road and the only way to turn is left.

From the next light, I turn right. He turns right behind me. I drive for another 250m and turn right, he turns right again. At this point I spot a PUC Omni van and my car's PUC is due for renewal, so I stop to get that done. The person sitting inside the Omni tells me that he can't do it for a petrol car today, so I thanked him and drove on.

At this point I notice that there's a white Xcent behind me with Yellow plates and DRLs again. Now I start getting suspicious. It can't be the same car, right? Why would that car wait for me when I'm stopped at the PUC van?Nevertheless, I keep an eye on it.

I turn left 200m from the PUC van and join the service road to the western express highway.
The Xcent proceeds to turn left behind me. I drive for 500m and I see that the Xcent is right on my tail. It isn't changing lanes, not trying to overtake even though I'm giving it ample chances to. By this point I'm positive it's following me, so I decide to stop by the side of the road again, without indicating to see if it proceeds to stop behind me. Lo and behold - The Xcent stops right behind me.

I wait for 4-5 seconds, and start driving all the while my eyes switching focus between the road and the rear view mirror. I accelerate slowly at first, but then I gun it. The Xcent starts moving as soon as I first accelerate, but then for whatever reason, decides to give up the chase.

It took me another 30-35 minutes to reach where I wanted to go, and as you might imagine, I kept a keen eye on the IRVM. Even took the sea link when I didn't need to, to see if there was an ugly Xcent with DRLs behind, but there wasn't. I'm sure I lost the tail, but I couldn't help but wonder if it was all just a massive co-incidence.

The place where I stopped to check whether this guy was following me was right before the entrance to the International Airport. Maybe that was just a regular cab, waiting for an airport pick-up. And the cab that followed me from my society was just another Xcent taxi and not this one.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I let a few hours pass before I realised I have a dashcam. And I can check the footage to see if the Xcent that followed me from inside my society passed me when I stopped at the PUC van.

Now well, there's no other way to say this but HE STOPPED, HE STOPPED WHEN I WAS WAITING AT THE PUC VAN. I CAN SEE HIM IN MY DASHCAM! HE WAS WAITING 2 CAR LENGTHS AHEAD OF ME!

Here's a series of pictures showing me turning in near the PUC van, him turning in ahead of me and stopping while I was talking to the PUC van:

Next, I looked at the footage from when I was leaving my society. But before that, here's how my society is designed - There's the main road, and a gate at the main road, then there's a big area of parking cars and then the main society begins and this is where the security checks happen. So there are 2 gates - The main road gate and the inside gate. This guy was waiting in the middle of the main road gate and the inside gate - The place where some cars are parked.
The security at the main road gate are pretty lackadaisical and don't stop and ask people when they enter.

Anyway, here he is - with his car parked and DRLs on, waiting for me:


You can see his DRLs are on, which means the engine is running:


Here's the final spot I stopped at, on the Western Express Highway to confirm the tail before I gunned it and lost him:

Erm, so yeah. Pretty iffy, I know. What do I do now? Do I file an FIR? Do I wait and see if it happens again? The registration numbers I've been able to shortlist are:

MH 02 EH 3808 - RTO website unable to find the details of this vehicle
MH 02 EH 3804 - Registered to one "Dhanlaxmi tours and travels" in December 2016, so pre-facelift. (Maybe it got into an accident and was repaired with parts from the facelift?) But it's white and diesel.


Any help will be appreciated

[dealer]

Certainly the incident that you have described seems to be quite fishy. While I do not have much advice to offer other than keeping an eye out for such an incidence to reoccur, I was however able to find a car number that matches your description of being a facelifted Xcent bearing a similar number.
MH02EH5808 - Xcent 2017 (Prince Travels)

[Samba]

Originally Posted by DeKay

No, I'm not involved in anything illegal, no I'm not rich, no I don't owe anyone any money, I'm just a regular 26 year old that doesn't know why he would be followed.

Think of all the possible reasons.

Like kidnapping and asking for ransom.

Anything related to a girl? For eg, If you are going to get married, in that case, many a times the girls family put detective agencies at work to get the whereabouts of the guy. They have different packages for these kind of work.

Just jot down all the possible reasons.

Today it’s a Xcent, tomorrow it may be another car or a two-wheeler.

Get a rear dashcam fixed asap.

Ask the security guys in your apartment. As you have the registration number of the car, get the details, why that car was in your apartment or to meet whom.

Talk to your parents, if they insist get it reported to the nearest police station. They can trace out the car and get the details from the driver.

During my younger days, my dad used to ask his contacts to keep an eye on me, as I had a reputation of driving/riding fast! Hope it’s nothing like that!

[lamborghini]

This is a pretty scary experience.

If I were you, I would definitely inform the Society & also file a NC with the police station.

Whether to call the firm yourself, or take stricter action - I shall let other members pipe in.
It's good you had a dash cam to record it.

Was there anyone else in the car? Or any incident that took place recently with a taxi driver or so?

We had a similar experience when my wife and I were followed from our office to the club for dinner, with an Innova following us. My wife was driving, no dash cam as we were driving another car as compared to our daily, etc.
We noticed it following us - initially weren't suspicious until we let it overtake and it slowed down ahead.
Upon leaving the club, the security informed us that the same Innova was asking queries, etc. about us.

Took a round about way back home, avoided taking the car out for a few days, and informed parents so they could be more alert as well.

A little snooping (thank god for CCTV at office) - we figured out who it belonged to : a politically backed construction contractor who wanted to speak to us about a development we were planning on doing! Clearly not the best way to get new business, but thankfully not as bad as some of the stories one hears.

[CliffHanger]

Could be a case of mistaken identity too.

Would suggest to take it seriously and lodge a complaint in your society and in police station.

I remember a friend who was kidnapped in Brussels, kept in hostage, beaten black and blue, and released after two days citing mistaken identity.

Exercise caution and stay safe for the next one or two months, or till you find out what is happening.

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Originally Posted by Samba

Anything related to a girl? For eg, If you are going to get married, in that case, many a times the girls family put detective agencies at work to get the whereabouts of the guy. They have different packages for these kind of work.

I would agree with Samba and think on similar lines. If there is no girl in question, I would suggest you write a complaint / bring to the notice of your local police station, along with all details you have. If it repeats, you can go the legal route. For the first incident, the police will be reluctant to lodge a FIR.

Any legal experts here? What are the sections this 'offence' might attract? Stalking?

Spike

[rahul_jo]

I had a similar experience not with me but with a female friend of mine. She was travelling from Delhi to Noida via a cab. A bunch of us friends were catching up after a long time and it was around 7 in the evening during the winters when she boarded the cab.

After moving just a few kilometres, she said that the cab driver pulled over at a CNG station for gas. Everything seemed normal until this point. However, she noticed that this cab driver was talking to a stranger. The driver then approached my friend and asked if she would be okay if he could let in another person into the cab as he was travelling in the same direction.

My friend sternly told him off and said - "I am paying for this cab, so no. You can't have another person". She was around 15 kms away from where I was. She called me with a slight sense of concern. I told her to immediately get off the cab and let me come pick her up. She said, she has informed her family, given them the live location.

But still, a part of me wasn't okay with this. I told her to constantly be on the phone and not to hang up until she reaches her destination. Once again, everything seemed normal for a while until she noticed this black scorpio over and over again. She found herself seeing this car over and over again throughout the entire journey. Sometimes it would over take them and at other times it would be parked at the corner of the road.

She lives in an apartment complex. When she finally reached, she was surprised to notice that the same scorpio was parked a few hundred meters away behind this cab. She took a picture of the number plate just to be safe.

Now till this very date she has no clue why this car was chasing after her. Could it be that it was a bunch of guys who spotted an attractive looking female all alone and decided to pursue her? Maybe (Yet very scary).

Could it be that the folks inside this Scorpio were some friends of this taxi driver heading in the same direction? Possible as well.

Nonetheless, it was a scary experience all in all.

[bharatbits]

Nonsense. Ignore it. Stop watching all those TV shows and TV series'. If you get afraid of such a small thing many will try to frighten you. In this world, especially Mumbai everything can be traced down.

As you grow up in age, in riches, in profession you will have many disagreements, arguments with many people and you cannot get paranoid about every little thing. I was like you but life's experiences made me tough.

If that's the case every businessman worth his salt or every politician must be paranoid throughout their life.

[revvharder]

Well it depends on your position if you should be frightened or not, once while returning from a wedding (around 12:00 am) a Scorpio was driving adjacent to our WagonR, sometimes he would just be behind us, sometimes he would overtake us from right most lane and stop in the left most lane.

I noticed this and it seemed to funny to me but when I told my mom, she raised her eyebrow and told me his intention is not good and so I realised and the situation was not funny anymore and the worse part was I was in the WagonR and I couldn't drive fast and loose him.

So I did smart driving first to check whether he is really following us then when confirmed I tried to maintain a steady speed with being in the middle lane and tried to be in a crowd of 4-5 cars.

I reached home safe and that car is never to be seen again.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by DeKay

I

Erm, so yeah. Pretty iffy, I know. What do I do now? Do I file an FIR? Do I wait and see if it happens again? The registration numbers I've been able to shortlist are:

Very iffy. Take a chill pill and let it be. This was one incident, you were in your own car during normal hours on busy roads, so there wasn't much of a safety concern if you ask me.

As for potential reasons for this happening, it could be anything. Good you have a dashcam, and clearly you will be paying attention going forward so I dont see a case of worry. Atleast not until it happens again.

If there are others who use the car, I'd suggest giving them a mild headsup, but please don't make it to be a sinister movie plot , rather I'd say make it more of an anecdotal story so atleast they will be aware of it.

[humyum]

I would suggest you definitely mention all this at a police station and get an NC done.

Let the cops investigate this cab, its number and figure out what the case is, who knows its a stolen vehicle put into action to carry out kidnapping, theft or say even surveillance before a crime, you never know. Country is going through tough times, crime is bound to increase, let us not be the one to face the pointed end of that.

Secondly, when you are not going by car too, please keep an eye on your surroundings, what happens in a car, can happen on foot too.

I have this habit of looking around always, walking or in a car, my third eye is always at my surroundings, I don't even let someone walk behind me at a close distance if the road is less populated, I just stop and let him/her/them pass.

Same with a car, when I feel someone has been behind me for long, I mark their moments to figure the nature of their driving and when I get an idea, gun it like a hooligan if its late and no traffic(If he follows, its a tail, no one drives like that suddenly) or slow down so much that he has to pass if he is not following and then drive slowly for a couple of minutes to see if he vanishes ahead or not.

Be safe, get the authorities in.

[Lalvaz]

Originally Posted by humyum

I would suggest you definitely mention all this at a police station and get an NC done.

Let the cops investigate this cab, its number and figure out what the case is, who knows its a stolen vehicle put into action to carry out kidnapping, theft or say even surveillance before a crime, you never know. Country is going through tough times, crime is bound to increase, let us not be the one to face the pointed end of that.

Agree, An NC is advisable given that this is not a figment of one's imagination. He knows the residence and was waiting. One should inform the cops.

Originally Posted by humyum

Same with a car, when I feel someone has been behind me for long, I mark their moments to figure the nature of their driving and when I get an idea, gun it like a hooligan if its late and no traffic(If he follows, its a tail, no one drives like that suddenly) or slow down so much that he has to pass if he is not following and then drive slowly for a couple of minutes to see if he vanishes ahead or not. .

Curious to know if after having taken all these steps, have you ever confirmed that its a TAIL? If yes, did you ever complain to the cops and figure out why they were tailing you?

[Geo_Ipe]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

If I were you, I would definitely inform the Society & also file a NC with the police station.

Originally Posted by humyum

I would suggest you definitely mention all this at a police station and get an NC done.

Originally Posted by Lalvaz

Agree, An NC is advisable given that this is not a figment of one's imagination.

Pardon my ignorance, but what does 'filing an NC mean'?

[humyum]

Originally Posted by Lalvaz

Curious to know if after having taken all these steps, have you ever confirmed that its a TAIL? If yes, did you ever complain to the cops and figure out why they were tailing you?

Yes!! Once like 7 years back. It was rainy season, my friend and me had gone on a night drive at around 11:15-11:30. We stopped outside a shady bar near Amar Mahal to buy some ciggis from a small shop as that is what we were going on this drive for, to have a peaceful smoke away from the house. I remember checking out our surroundings when we stopped to buy ciggis as I would not want anyone to see me buying it too and hence was extra careful, there was no bike anywhere. After we got going again, a bike was behind us and it took the Amar Mahal exit with us, he must have come out from some lane or must be tailing us from somewhere, don't know.

Since it was an empty highway, I gunned the car till the first flyover which passes over the Ghatkopar Depot left turn, the bike kept up and I was actually impressed with the headlight being the same in my rear view mirror right from the turn.

Then we took out our Ciggi's which we were too scared to smoke around our area as if someone saw us smoking, we would be having a tough time at home. So the smokes being the aim, I slowed down on the highway to around 60 and was peacefully driving when I realized this bike guy has slowed down too, that raised some suspicion in my head and whenever that happens, like I said before, I either slow down or gun it, this time with the ciggi in my hand, gunning would mean I would have to concentrate on the ash not falling inside, the speed etc, I decided to slow down not expecting anything to happen but just the guys to pass by.

Invariably that was not to be, he came next to my car and with my already open window he and his pillion shouted and yelled to stop the car with him almost putting his bike in front of the car. I was off pace, off boost and a little distracted with the ciggi in my hand, I just composed myself in 2 seconds, threw the damn ciggi out and blared the horn, got into the right gear and went like 1 mm next to the leg of the guy sitting behind the rider.

Immediately he moved to the side a bit and I literally shifted in every gear till 4000 rpm till I reached 5th. He had a Pulsar 180 as when he got to my side, I noticed the 180 written and he kept up behind. My friend was pissed, he said 'stop the car', lets beat them up and I obviously did not agree because those guys were huge, looked like gundas and I did not want to get into something which had high scope of injury to us.

The roads were empty, that's how it is at this time on this side of the highway at this time. He followed me till the Mulund flyover where I took a U in under steering all the way out of fear of them catching up if I slowed down. They did not follow and I directly went to the Police station at Ghatkopar East after that. Told them the story, wrote an NC, gave a description, was told that such things have started happening on the highway in the night, some people have got robbed some days back with a similar modus operandi. Asked him what if I had knocked him off while I was trying to save myself, the cop just smiled and said 'You also have a life' (In Marathi)

[Engine_Roars]

The best way to check if some one is indeed following you or not is to take as many right or left turns that you make a full circle. Either you would lose the vehicle or you wil know what to do next.