City 3rd in country in automobile thefts: NCRB

An officer who formerly worked with an anti-vehicle theft squad in western suburbs said the offence is one that spans several states,making detection and prevention difficult. A car stolen in Mumbai may ends up in Orissa or Assam. “Most of these gangs are divided into various modules,with each module operating in a specific city. Thus,if one module handles the stealing of the vehicle,a second module takes care of changing its colour,licence plate,engine number and chassis number,and a third one delivers it to its destination. Even if we bust one module,busting the entire gang is not always possible,” said the officer.

The western suburbs witnessed the maximum number of vehicle thefts . Typically,vehicles are stolen from a suburb,driven to spaces where a large number of cars are parked and left there.

Former DGP K Subramaniam said,“Some responsibility also lies with vehicle owners and manufacturers. It can not be so difficult to come up with safety features that prevent theft,and this needs to be addressed.”