As many as 84 cases of vehicle theft are reported in the national capital everyday, with acute shortage of parking space and reluctance of car owners in installing anti-auto theft equipment being blamed for the rising cases.
According to records of Delhi Police, 21,417 motor vehicle theft cases were registered till September 12 this year, as compared to 15,530 cases for the corresponding period in 2014, showing an almost 38 per cent increase in motor vehicle theft cases.
While 84 motor vehicles are reported stolen every day this year, it was 64 per day in 2014 and around 40 throughout 2012 and 2013.
If compared with the average number of motor vehicle thefts reported in the past three years (adjusted for the corresponding period), there has been around 75 per cent increase in motor vehicle theft cases, revealed records.
"Tracking stolen motor vehicles have turned tougher for the cops with several inter-state gangs now dispatching the stolen vehicles - mostly four-wheelers - to north-eastern states like Assam, Nagaland and Manipur. Earlier, stolen vehicles were often traced in neighbouring states like Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh," said a police official.
Also, not all stolen vehicles are dispatched in whole. They are often disintegrated and sold to different parties part by part. In such cases, the engine (bearing the chassis number) becomes the sole identity of the stolen vehicle, said the official.
