Mumbai records 2,481 vehicle thefts till September

Even as Mumbai police gets more vigilant with the help of newly-installed CCTV cameras and 94 patrolling vans, street crime continues to remain a challenge. This year, as many as 2,481 incidents of vehicle theft have been recorded in the city till September with only 578 arrests so far.

According to data collected from Mumbai police, a copy of which is with The Asian Age, the police has recorded only 23 per cent detection rate for vehicle theft (auto theft) cases this year. The scene was no different in 2014, with 23 per cent detection rate for the entire year.

According to a senior official from the Crime Branch, criminals mostly use these vehicles to carry out other crimes like robbery, dacoity, chain snatching, and kidnapping.

Towards this, they get support from mechanics and garage owners as well.

“In almost all cases of car or van thefts, offenders change the name plate with a fake one. In fact with the help of the garage, they manage to get a new chassis number too after welding the old one,” said the official.

According to sources, most incidents of vehicle theft this year have occurred in the month of August, in which 304 vehicle theft incidents were registered. Among them, the police has arrested 25 people in 54 cases, while 250 cases remain undetected.

The month of September September stood second in the list of vehicle theft incidents, in which, 288 incidents were reported and 27 arrests made.

A senior police official said that offenders roam about in parking lots and when they notice any car which is not locked, they easily grab the opportunity and escape from the place driving the car without anyone noticing them. Sometimes after performing the crime, offenders sell the spare parts and the AC or music system of the car.

According to statistics, in the calendar year 2014, the city saw a total of 2,694 incidents of vehicle theft and 616 persons were arrested in connection with them.