Chennai: A man drove away a car parked near a fuel station when the vehicle owner stepped out to make payment at a fuel outlet in Vyasarpadi on Tuesday morning.

The owner’s mobile phone which was in the car came in handy for the police who traced the vehicle and later secured the thief and his accomplice.

Police said that the owner, Melvin (36) of Vyasarpadi, is a Congress party functionary. On Tuesday, Melvin had driven to a fuel outlet on Melpatti Ponnappan Street. After filling fuel, he had parked the car by the road and gone to the fuel station to make payment when the car was driven away.

On realising that his car was stolen, Melvin alerted the police who learnt of his mobile phone left behind in the vehicle and tracked the vehicle’s movements. The car had been driven up to Gummidipoondi and then back to Puzhal. When police reached the location, the suspects had abandoned the vehicle and fled.

Further investigations led police to the accused Surya (25), a bike mechanic from Kannadasan Nagar in Kodungaiyur, and his associate Bharath (28) of Manali. They were produced before a magistrate and remanded to judicial custody.