34% rise in vehicle thefts in Gurugram

There has been an alarming rise in the number of  vehicle theft cases registered in the millennium city. According to data provided by the Gurugram police, 2,003 cases of vehicle theft were registered this year till May compared to 1,492 last year in the same period.

The data compiled by the police department reveals that there has been 34.25 per cent rise in the number of vehicles stolen this year so far.  “We have issued instructions to concern Station House Officers (SHOs) to increase patrolling in their respective areas besides identifying sensitive areas prone to vehicle theft,” Gurugram Police spokesperson Subhash Boken said.

“Anti-vehicle theft squads have tried hard to curb vehicle theft but criminals from the neighbouring district and shortage of manpower are the main reasons for increase in such cases,” said a police officer.

The most sensitive areas of vehicle thefts are:  Civil Lines, Sadar, DLF Phase-II, Palam Vihar, City Area, Sector 14 and Sector 10A. According to police, thieves use master keys to open the lock of any vehicle within a minute. “After stealing the vehicle, they leave the city to hide in a safer place and then contact the dealers to sell the vehicles, which are mostly sold in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Nuh district in Haryana and Nepal,” police said.

“We have urged residents to install CCTV camera outside of their house and also to the administration to install cameras at the markets and other busy junctions so that it can help police nab the accused. Although the administration has installed cameras on Sadar Bazaar and Jail road which help us to keep an eye on these locations,” Boken said.

Sources said the newly appointed Commissioner of Police has given strict instruction to the personnel who were found negligent in their job. He has ordered that disciplinary action will be taken against officers who delay in registering cases. Meanwhile, the PRO said their teams have recovered many stolen vehicles. “The percentage of solved cases is not too good, but we have recovered stolen vehicles in large quantity. Our teams are on a hunt to nab the thieves,” he said.