Increasing incidents of vehicle thefts in the city are not only giving sleepless nights to the owners but are also sending the police into a tizzy. On an average eight vehicles, mostly from the urban areas, are stolen every day.
Despite putting in their best efforts, only 500 of the reported 2,050 cases of vehicles thefts in 2008 have been solved. That leaves 75 per cent of the cases unsolved.
The year 2007 was no better either with only 275 cases out of 1,530 cases being solved.
Motorcycles are stolen with impunity. “If one parks one’s bike and leaves it even for 10 minutes, it is likely to be stolen, Ramesh Gupta, whose bike was stolen,” from Apna Bazar Complex, says. He had left his bike for just about 10 minutes and when he returned it was gone.
There are a number of soft targets in the city that vehicle thieves generally target. Apna Bazaar, Aap Ka Bazaar, Radha Place – all on Gurudwara road near Sabzi Mandi, Jain Mandir Chowk, Hanuman Mandir, Galleria Market in DLF city, Central Market in DLF-II, Sikanderpur Market, Vyapar Kendra at Palam Vihar, markets in Sector 14, 17, 29 and Sector 31 are considered easy targets. Cops say people don’t park the vehicles at the designated spaces and end up losing their vehicles trying to save on the parking fees.
The police might point fingers at the public but the administration is also equally to be blamed for not providing enough parking lots. For instance, Sadar Bazar in Gurgaon doesn’t have a designated parking lot due to which people are forced to leave their cars unattended.
Sumit Kuhar, ACP of DLF City, said the police are doing their best to check vehicle thefts. Galleria Market has seen a sharp decline in theft incidents after a parking lot was introduced in the market a month ago.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Anil Dhawan said a special cell has been formed for anti-vehicle theft and policemen in both plain clothes and uniforms, have been deputed at various places to nab the miscreants.
Most of the thieves are from Mewat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and the Jhajjar, Bhiwani and Hisar districts of Haryana. They are mostly illiterate and steal for a petty amount of Rs 2000 to 3000 per bike which is then sold off on the same day. The middle-men, after making certain modifications, sell the vehicles at higher prices in far-flung areas, Anil Dhawan said.
Gurgaon Police Commissioner Mohinder Lal also said the thieves had a free hand as the police were busy with other commitments but now the police have tightened their network against them. The public should also cooperate and install second hidden locks in their vehicles, Mohinder Lal said.
Do you think allotment of enough parking space would solve the problem of auto theft?
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