176 vehicles stolen from city this year, police recover only 44

Most stolen vehicles are used by accused to commit crimes such as chain snatching and robberies

NAVI MUMBAI: As many as 176 vehicles were stolen from different parts of Navi Mumbai between January and March this year of which the police have recovered 44, said the police.

According to an official from the Navi Mumbai crime branch, of the 594 vehicles stolen from the satellite city in 2015, 142 were traced, while of the 654 vehicles stolen in 2014, 169 were found.

Most vehicle theft cases were reported at Nerul, Kharghar, Rabale, Panvel and Kopar Khairane this year, said the police, adding that a majority of the stolen vehicles included two-wheelers.

While presenting the annual crime reports in January, Navi Mumbai police commissioner Prabhat Ranjan had said that ensuring safety of vehicles and increasing detection rate will be one of their priorities in 2016. However, statistics reveal that, on an average, two vehicles are being stolen from the city every day.

Deputy commissioner of police ( crime) Dilip Sawant said, “It is true that the detection rate of vehicle theft cases is relatively lower. But we have left no stone unturned to improve the scenario.”

According to Sawant, most of the thieves do not reside in the city, but “come here, commit a crime and flee. If not arrested, they come again to commit another crime after a few months”.

A majority of the recovered vehicles in 2015 were found either in remote interior regions of Maharashtra or in the neighbouring states, said the police.

According to the police, the stolen vehicles are also used in crimes such as chain snatching and robberies.

An officer from Vashi police station said, “Blaming the police for increase in such cases all the time is not justified. It has been observed that several people do not take any steps to protect their vehicles. If someone can spend lakhs of rupees on buying a car, can’t he spend a few more thousands of rupees on installing a GPRS system?”

“More than 50% of housing societies in the city do not have sufficient parking lots as per requirement. So, people park their vehicles on the road, and fall prey to vehicle thieves,” he added.