New Delhi:
As many as 84 cases of vehicle theft are reported in the national capital everyday, with acute shortage of parking space and reluctance of car owners in installing anti-auto theft equipment being blamed for the rising cases.
According to records of Delhi Police, 21,417 motor vehicle theft cases were registered till September 12 this year, as compared to 15,530 cases for the corresponding period in 2014, showing an almost 38 per cent increase in motor vehicle theft cases.
While 84 motor vehicles are reported stolen every day this year, it was 64 per day in 2014 and around 40 throughout 2012 and 2013.
If compared with the average number of motor vehicle thefts reported in the past three years (adjusted for the corresponding period), there has been around 75 per cent increase in motor vehicle theft cases, revealed records.
"Tracking stolen motor vehicles have turned tougher for the cops with several inter-state gangs now dispatching the stolen vehicles - mostly four-wheelers - to north-eastern states like Assam, Nagaland and Manipur. Earlier, stolen vehicles were often traced in neighbouring states like Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh," said a police official.
Also, not all stolen vehicles are dispatched in whole.
They are often disintegrated and sold to different parties part by part. In such cases, the engine (bearing the chassis number) becomes the sole identity of the stolen vehicle, said the official.
Due to the acute shortage of parking space, there is the general practice of parking vehicles on roadsides. This is what most auto-lifters take advantage of, said the official.
He added that installing anti-auto theft equipment like mechanical and electronic immobilizers, steering-wheel lock, hood lock, tyre lock and alarm systems can reduce auto theft to a certain extent. But there has always been a general reluctance on part of car owners in this regard.
To combat the growing menace of motor vehicle theft in the national capital, Delhi Police has specialised units in several districts. However, the problem only turned worse over years as reported cases kept increasing and work out rate remained below 20 per cent, said the official.
Earlier this year, Delhi Police rolled out an application to register FIRs online in connection with motor vehicle theft cases. Around 13,000 cases have been registered through this application till September 12.
The application also furnishes untraced reports duly accepted by relevant courts. On recovery of stolen vehicles, the details are matched with centralised databases resulting in disposal of cases, said the senior official.