Greater Noida (World Desk): A 36-year-old software engineer, Ivan Valentine, a resident of Solihull city in West Midlands, Britain, recently got caught in a very shocking situation. In February, his black Honda Civic was stolen farom outside his house. It was a quick theft in which the thieves fled with the car.
Ivan immediately reported the incident to the police, but he was told that the chances of recovering the car were very low. Disappointed Ivan got a claim from his insurance company, from which he decided to buy a new car.
Same model, same color – and then the same car!
Ivan wanted to buy a new car of his favorite model. He said that this car was part of a “mid-life crisis” for him – a sporty car that he always wanted to drive, before he had to buy a family car. Soon after, he found a Honda Civic of the same model and colour for sale on an online platform. The price was £20,000, which is about Rs 22 lakh. The condition of the car was good, the number plate was new, and the mileage was also low. After seeing everything, Ivan immediately finalized the deal.
Strange coincidence or something else?
When Ivan looked at the car carefully after finding it, he found some things strange. Inside the car were items like a tent peg, some Christmas tree pine decorations, and a Mars bar wrapper – exactly the same things that were in his stolen car. Despite this, he convinced himself that maybe it was just a coincidence. But then the real shock came when he checked the previous location history in the car’s built-in navigation system. The addresses of his and his parents’ houses were already saved there.
Shock and regret – both together
Ivan told the BBC, “To be honest, I was in shock. When I saw the navigation history, my hands started shaking and my heart started beating fast. For a moment I felt like I had won something, but then I realized that I had bought my own stolen car again.” He admitted that this experience was very embarrassing and strange for him. “You did not do anything smart to get the car back, you just made a stupid mistake,” he said. The matter is now with the police and investigation is being done to find out how the car reached the dealer and who sold it. The insurance company is also investigating how Ivan bought the same car again despite already getting a claim.
Ivan’s story is becoming increasingly viral on the Internet and this incident remains a topic of surprise and discussion among the people.
