E-Paper
4 vehicles stolen every day in Pune; most stolen from residential areas
According to the police, those residential societies that don’t deploy security guards have been most vulnerable for vehicle thefts and also those residential areas where there is no place to park the vehicles
PUNE The city is witnessing thefts of at least four vehicles daily on an average. Most of the vehicles have been found stolen from residential areas followed by the theft of vehicles parked at public places, as per Pune police.
According to data provided by Pune police, in 2021 till October 31, 1,186 vehicles have been stolen and in 2020, as many as 974 vehicles were stolen compared to 1,677 vehicles stolen in 2019.
Vehicles belonging to some specific companies have been targeted by thieves due to the resale value the vehicle fetches in the market. The policemen have also advised those companies to initiate a strong locking mechanism of their two-wheelers and also the citizens have been advised to put in place a digital locking system or install a GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) based system to thwart vehicle thefts.
According to the police, those residential societies that don’t deploy guards have been most vulnerable for vehicle thefts and also those residential areas where there is no place to park the vehicles. The residents of such areas park their vehicles at public places from where they get stolen.
According to the police statistics, as many as 401 vehicles have been stolen from Hadapsar, Kondhwa, Mundhwa and Wanowrie police station areas of zone V of the city commissionerate from January 1 till October 31 this year.
DCP (Crime) Sriniwas Ghadge said, “ We are taking strong steps against vehicle theft. The number of thefts was less during the Covid-19 lockdown period and necessary action has been initiated. We appeal to the citizens to lock their vehicles and park in areas which are under CCTV surveillance.”
The police have listed gardens, government offices, state transport (ST) bus stands, hospitals, temples, schools, colleges, business centres, banks and ATMs as the different places where the vehicle thieves had struck.
The policemen have also researched that there are 67 spots in the city from where vehicles are regularly stolen and traced as many as 25 vehicle thieves on police records who have been engaged in stealing two-wheelers repeatedly from public roads and residential societies. These culprits have been arrested and their links with their counterparts have also been traced.
The two-wheelers stolen from Pune are usually sold in rural parts of the district, Marathwada and North Maharashtra. The police have also found that two-wheelers stolen and dismantled and their spare parts are stolen by mechanics of different garages with the objective of making money without getting caught by the policemen.
