Article--To catch a thief

H er never-say-never instincts as a vamp on the tube probably helped Preeti Puri nab a thief. The actress had recently gone to a suburban mall. She stepped into a watch store, and was about to buy one when she realised her mobile phone was missing. Obvious suspect Since there was no one around but the shop-owner and she, Puri knew he'd taken it. She demand- ed it back. He denied having stolen it. When her threats didn't work, Puri called the cops. They arrived but insisted that she should accompany them to the police station to lodge a complaint. Open-shut case By then it was too late. The mall had shut and the actress still hadn't retrieved her phone. Puri says that she is emotion- ally attached to the phone because it contains a video clip- ping of her late grandmother. With the help of the cops, the actress had the mall re-opened at 1 a m. The shop-owner finally confessed to the crime. The cul- prit fell at her feet and she let him off.