Vehicle thefts in the city are getting worse every year. A look at data gathered by the Ahmedabad Police Department shows that every year since 2016, a thousand vehicles have been stolen from the city, including two-wheelers, four-wheelers and even three-wheelers. The data also reveals that every year, cops were able to recover only 30% of the stolen vehicles, while the remaining are still undetected.
This year, until April, a total of 489 vehicles were stolen from the city which included 398 two-wheelers, 28 four-wheelers and 63 three-wheelers. Of these, only 122 vehicles were tracked down by cops, which puts the recovery rate at 24%. Similarly, in 2018, only 28% of the stolen vehicles were recovered, while in 2017, it was 30% and 34% in 2016.
A senior police official said, “The recovery of stolen vehicles is tough, as in most cases, the number plate of the vehicle is changed and it is taken to a neighbouring state such as Madhya Pradesh or Rajasthan. These vehicles are then sold off to random customers. This makes it harder to track down the vehicles.”
Cops say that the vehicles stolen from the city are usually ones which are commonly used by the public. Among two-wheelers, Honda Activa, Hero Splendor and Bajaj Pulsar are the most stolen, while from among four-wheelers, thieves usually go for Maruti models such as WagonR, Swift, Alto and Eco, along with Mahindra Bolero.
“By stealing vehicles which are commonly used by people, the thieves have an advantage as all they have to do to hide is change the number plate. Also, most of these vehicles have good resale value in the market and can be sold off easily,” the police official added.
Records show that vehicle thieves can be usually classified into two types of criminals – those who work in a gang to steal vehicles and then sell them, and those who steal the vehicles, use them for a while and then abandon them at some deserted place. Usually, the vehicles most commonly recovered by cops are the ones which are abandoned.