The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Vehicle theft tops crime list

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Oct 07, 2006
ePaper

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Vehicle theft tops crime list

LAW &ORDER Till September this year, as many as 2,521 vehicles were stolen in the city, writes Raghava M.

WITH THE rate of recovery of stolen vehicles at 25 per cent, the safety of vehicles continues to be a matter of concern. Many of the vehicles stolen are two wheelers.

On an average, 250 to 300 two-wheelers are stolen every month, mostly from the city's parking lots, though the ones parked near houses are not totally safe.

The police have said time and again that merely locking the vehicle or using a chain to prevent it from being stolen is not the solution.

The thieves use duplicate keys and can easily break the chains.

Breaking the handle lock is also easy for them, says a senior police officer.

The culprits, the city police say, are mostly from nearby places such as Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri and Hosur in Tamil Nadu.

According to the Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Gopal B. Hosur, many of the vehicles are stolen from parking lots that are not secure. After the vehicle is stolen, the number plate is changed to escape detection.

Many of the offenders are those who are already facing charges of theft.

"Though we have been catching these offenders, they come out on bail and continue to commit the crime," Mr. Hosur says.

Theft of vehicles, more so of two wheelers, continues to top the list of crimes reported in the city.

Till September this year, as many as 2,521 vehicles were stolen. Of this, 278 cases were reported in January, 250 in February, 324 in March, 283 in April, 275 in May, 300 in June, 303 in July, 266 in August and 242 in September.

Such offences have been high in areas such as Jayanagar, Malleswaram and Ulsoor.

As stealing and disposal of a vehicle is easy compared with other stolen goods, more people are taking to this crime. "There have been numerous instances of students of professional colleges, boys from respectable families and even children of police officers committing theft of vehicles," a police officer notes.

Many of the thefts, the police say, are a result of people's neglect to properly lock their vehicles.

Prevention

A majority of the thefts, the police say, can be prevented by properly locking the vehicles. But people have found that this too is not very safe.

They have opted to leave the vehicles in big sheds by paying the owners anything between Rs. 100 and Rs. 150 per month.

The city police, who have done an analysis of vehicle thefts, are working out strategies to check the offence.

It includes steps to ensure that the offenders do not get bail and working with prosecutors in getting the offenders convicted quickly.

"We will try new ways of patrolling too," Mr. Hosur pointed out.

These steps will be apart from recommending the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike to introduce the pay-and-park rule.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka