Your vehicle got stolen in Tamil Nadu? Chances are very high that you get it back, if one goes by a latest government data. But if you are in Delhi and your vehicle got stolen, the scene is just the opposite where chances are only 20 per cent of its recovery. According to figures provided by National Crime Records Bureau, 86.7 per cent of the stolen vehicle last year were recovered by Tamil Nadu police after arresting 2,558 people. Out of the 2,888 vehicles stolen in the state last year, the report said, police recovered a whopping 2,504 vehicles. This is not the first time that Tamil Nadu earned this laurel with the state registering similar feat in previous years - 2005 and 2006. In 2005, out of the 3,583 vehicles stolen from the state, 2,624 were recovered while the figures for 2006 were 3,009 and 2,605 respectively. Only one out of five vehicles stolen from the capital is recovered by police, the report said noting that only 1,782 out of 8,874 vehicles stolen from the metro was recovered from the thieves. Maharashtra has recorded the highest number of vehicle thefts last year in the country with 13,910 cases. However, only 25 per cent of the vehicles - 3,595 - were recovered with the arrest of 5,768 persons. Maharashtra is followed by Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat in the list of states which have the highest number of cases of motor vehicle thefts. Only 22 per cent of the 9,485 vehicles stolen from Uttar Pradesh were recovered last year while 26 per cent of 8,822 vehicles stolen from Madhya Pradesh were recovered, the NCRB report said. A total of 98,930 vehicles were stolen across the country last year of which 28,126 were recovered, the report said. The all-India recovery percentage is 28.40. In 2006, a total of 91,100 vehicles were stolen while 26,474 were recovered. The figures for 2005 were 84,675 stolen and 24,918 recovered vehicles. Two-wheelers were the favourite of vehicle thieves with 76,539 motorcycles and scooters being stolen. This amounted to 77.36 per cent of the total vehicles stolen. However, only 21,448 two-wheelers were recovered which is 28 per cent of the total motorcycles and scooters stolen. The next favourite was cars and jeeps which accounted for 14,836. Out of this only 3,688 were recovered. Interestingly, one of the big states - Chhattisgarh - had no cases of stealing of buses, trucks and tempos. A total of 43,981 people were arrested last year in connection with vehicle-theft out of which 10,759 were convicted, the report said. Though the number of vehicles stolen has increased in the past three years, the number of those arrested has not increased. In 2005, the number of arrested was 43,442 and in 2006, it was 43,994.
