MORE THAN FOUR VEHICLES STOLEN EVERY HOUR IN DELHI
21,298 cases of motor vehicle thefts were reported till June 30, this year
More than four vehicles are stolen every hour in the national capital with motorcycles being the prime target, according to statistics shared by the Delhi Police. This year, till June 30, 21,298 cases of motor vehicle thefts were reported. As many as 12,689 motorcycles have been stolen, accounting for 60% of thefts. As many as 3,871 cars and 3,237 scooters were stolen during this time, while other vehicles accounted for seven per cent of the thefts, the data said.
A police data stated that between January and March this year, around 10,130 cases of motor vehicle (MV) theft have been registered with the city police, in which 856 persons have been arrested. Cops also claimed to have worked out 1,172 of these cases.
According to a senior police officer, motorcycles are used frequently for street crimes like snatching and robberies. “The accused use stolen motorcycles to carry out snatching and robberies so that even if the registration number is captured in the CCTV footage, they cannot be traced,” he said. “Many of the auto-lifters steal motorcycles on demand from snatchers,” the officer said.
The number of motor vehicle thefts reported last year was 40,972. In 2017, Delhi Police arrested more than 5,000 persons for MV theft and solved 6,894 cases. According to police, from time to time, gangs involved in MV theft change their modus operandi, which involves tampering chassis of vehicles and selling it in the grey market. In some cases, the accused persons have disclosed that selling stolen cars is a risky affair.
In 2016, around 38,644 cases were reported in which 4,473 vehicles were recovered and 5,069 accused were arrested. In 2015, 32,729 cases reported, but only 1,797 vehicles recovered, and more than 1,500 accused were nabbed.
According to the police official, there are various reasons which lead to the theft, one of the reason was the acute shortage of parking space and the general practice of parking the vehicles on the roadside.
Police sources claimed that with the time the modus operandi in motor vehicle theft have changed after stealing luxurious cars from the posh areas of Delhi, the gang of vehicle thieves used to drive the stolen cars to Meerut and dismantle them there. The car parts were sold in Lucknow, Meerut and other UP cities.