Thieves target 40 vehicles a day

Around 40 vehicles are stolen from the Capital on an average in a day and their demand is higher in villages and the interiors of the country.

According to police, there is also a change in the trend as luxury vehicles and SUVs are being stolen more compared to hatchbacks and sedans in the last few years. Sources said BMW and Audi are more in demand in Punjab, while SUVs are in demand in Bihar and Jharkhand.

“They are innovative and keep changing their method of operation to evade police dragnet,” said a police officer. Several gangs, who operate in the Capital, are also acquainted with the latest technology and software available to cheat people. They prepare original-looking fake documents to make stolen vehicle look legal. They are also sold to people in far-off villages in Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur and Andhra Pradesh. Sometimes, the vehicles are disassembled and sold as scrap or are delivered to spare parts shops.

“After a vehicle is stolen, thieves change the engine and chassis number for further sale. The vehicles for which engine and chassis number are not changed are sent to Nepal through porous borders,” the officer added.

Statistics reveal that 13,900 vehicles were stolen in the Capital last year, of which 1,893 were recovered. The theft saw an increase of 2.03 per cent when compared to 13,624 stolen vehicles in 2012. Among the stolen vehicles were 9,059 two-wheelers, 4,210 cars and 648 other vehicles. Police managed to recover only 14 per cent of the vehicles, but arrested 2,818 auto-lifters.

As stolen vehicles in the Capital are often seized from other states, police keep effective communication with counterparts in most of the states. Police further said thefts cannot be prevented if vehicle owners make it easy for auto-lifters by not using basic security options.