A comprehensive study of vehicle thefts in the city has revealed 34 areas that are frequently targeted by vehicle lifters as such the police on Tuesday kicked off an anti-theft drive by installing warning sign boards in vulnerable areas to alert motorists.
While visiting Rakh Bagh, the most frequented of vehicle lifters’ haunts, commissioner of police (CP) Rakesh Agrawal said, “We studied the pattern of vehicle lifting in Ludhiana and identified locations from where 80% of the thefts took place in 2020.”
Most people haphazardly parked their vehicle in Rakh Bagh, Rose Garden and the bus stand, making them easy targets for vehicle lifters, he said.
Vehicles parked along markets such as Ghumar Mandi and outside shopping malls are also frequently stolen.
“We have asked market associations and municipal corporations (MC) to install CCTV cameras on these locations,” said Agrawal
He said, “In most cases it was found that drivers had randomly parked their vehicles to avoid parking fee. In some cases it was found that residents had left their keys in the vehicles, making the theft all the more easy. Four cases were reported where occupants forgot to roll up the windows.”
Agrawal advised residents to install GPS devices in their vehicles as a safety measure.
{{/usCountry}}Agrawal advised residents to install GPS devices in their vehicles as a safety measure.
{{/usCountry}}Additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP) Samer Verma, assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Jatiner Chopra and Division 8 station house officer (SHO) Jarnail Singh were also present during the time of inspection.
The 34 hotspots include Leisure Valley, the Zone-D office, MBD Mall, Urban Estate Phase I Market, Urban Estate Phase II Market, Kipps Market, Gurudwara Shri Alamgir Sahib market, Punjab Agricultural University hostels, cremation ground behind KVM School, Samrala Chowk (near division 3 ), Mata Rani Chowk, Feroze Gandhi Market Court Complex, Civil Hospital, railway station parking, Western
Mall, Silver Arc, Deep Hospital, vegetable market, Rishi Nagar Near Abiss Restaurant, Apollo Hospital, Outside Gurudwara Shri Dukhniwaran Sahib, JMD Mall, CMC Hospital, Krishna Sweets Chawni Mohalla.