Every 15 minutes, a car in Delhi is either stolen or snatched. According to recent data, nearly 100 vehicles were reportedly stolen on each day of last month. A police study shows that the number vehicles stolen this year is double the figure registered in the whole of 2011.
Officers also say that there's been a 13% drop in the number of vehicles recovered. But they say that the spurt in the numbers is due to the increase in vehicle numbers and lack of parking space.
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The study finds one-sixth of the thefts are reported from east Delhi. The east district recorded 517 such cases in July, followed by outer district with 492 cases and west Delhi with 478. It also showed that almost 70% of the recoveries were of two-wheelers followed by hatchback cars.
Police say hatchbacks and sedans are the most sought after by auto-lifters, followed by SUVs. But SUVs are not easily available to lift.
"These gangs operate after dark and target areas with cluttered parking spaces. They use either master keys or break locks of car doors. In the case of two-wheelers, they just break the handle lock and use a duplicate key," said a senior police officer.
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DCP (southwest) Surender Kumar, who had conducted a sample study on the nature of vehicle thefts, found that most crimes were conducted between 9pm and 6am when police patrols were fewer. And most vehicles were found to be stolen from open parking areas.
"We had conducted raids based on the data collected during this study and have recovered 283 vehicles last month. It was found that 64 false cases were registered by car owners," said Kumar.
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Police said the auto-lifter gangs were so organised that most would lift two or three vehicles in less than two hours. They then flee to Haryana or UP overnight and reduce the vehicles to scrap, killing the scope of tracing. The dismantled parts are then sold off.
An officer said there was a strong nexus between car mechanics, auto-lifters and receivers. But it was also found in the study that about 55% of the vehicle thieves were first-time offenders looking for quick money to live a high life. "In many cases, college students and IT professionals have also been caught auto theft cases. Car owners should install GPS in their vehicles for quicker and easier tracking," Kumar said.