Though the Chandigarh Police has managed to slam the brakes on the rising vehicle theft incidents this year, the cops managed to recover just 28 per cent of the total stolen vehicles reported stolen this year.
According to the official data available, 785 vehicles were stolen from city in 2014 till December 23. However, the cops have managed to recover only 218 vehicles till date.According to the figures of National Crime Records Bureau, 874 vehicles were stolen in 2013 at various police stations of Chandigarh while the figure was 894 in the year 2012. Most of the vehicles were stolen from parking areas of the city, figures revealed.
Out of the 874 stolen vehicles in 2013, 583 were two wheelers and 289 four wheelers, In 2012, total of 617 two wheelers and 277 four wheelers were stolen from city limits. However, the police could recover only 319 vehicles in 2013 and 273 in 2012. In 2011, total of 915 vehicles were stolen out of which 290 were recovered and in 2010, 898 cases of vehicle theft were reported and only 256 of them were recovered, figures revealsed.
The data of Chandigarh Police also revealed that maximum vehicles were stolen from southern sectors of city with maximum stolen from the jurisdiction of Sector-34 Police Station.A senior police official said it becomes difficult to track stolen vehicles as the thieves sell it in other parts of India, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi at throwaway prices. He said the thieves change the chassis numbers of vehicle and also prepare bogus registration papers of new registration number.
Recently, the Chandigarh police busted a gang of auto lifters, active in Chandigarh vegetable markets. Nine motorcycles were recovered from their possession.Guriqbal Singh Sidhu, ASP, Chandigarh police said the accused disclosed that they had been stealing motorcycles from the parking areas of separate vegetable markets with the help of a master key. ASP said that after stealing vehicles from Chandigarh, the accused used to sell the vehicles to Mohammad Afzal, at the price of Rs4,000 each. Afzal, owner of a shop in Meerut, then disposed them off in scrap and sold it further to people.