8% rise in recovery of stolen vehicles till June 15

Harish Khare, media advisor to Prime Minister, was lucky to get back his stolen car within 24 hours of theft. But more than 18,000 Delhiites whose cars have been stolen in the past one-and-half years are still waiting to get them back.

Harish Khare, media advisor to Prime Minister, was lucky to get back his stolen car within 24 hours of theft. But more than 18,000 Delhiites whose cars have been stolen in the past one-and-half years are still waiting to get them back.

In the high-profile burglary case at Khare’s house, north district police was at its toes and recovered the car within hours but the same Delhi Police have been unable to recover cars in the majority of other such cases.

In past one-and-half years, 21,360 vehicles were stolen from various parts of Delhi, out of which police have able to recover only 3,192 vehicles.

“In 2010, the recovery rate was 12%, which has jumped to 20% this year and we are hoping to improve it further,” said a senior Delhi Police officer requesting anonymity. Police said vehicle theft is a most common crime in Delhi. At least 40 vehicles are stolen every day.

Vehicle thefts constitute about 15% of all the crimes committed in Delhi and there are various gangs operating in the city.
“These thefts happen mainly due to shortage of parking in residential and commercial areas. Also, the owners should be more careful,” the officer said, adding, “Most vehicles cannot be traced as they are sold in the north-eastern states or are sent to Nepal.”

Residents blame police for not taking common man’s car theft cases seriously but when it comes to VIPs, they manage to recover the vehicle.

Defending swift action in car theft case of Khare, DCP (north) IB Rani said, “The CCTV footage helped us crack the case otherwise it would have been difficult.”

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