Again, carjacking at gunpoint; 15 snatchings in 3 months

Whether you drive luxury Sedan or an SUV, you have more reasons to be on your toes. In the past three months, 15 high-end cars and SUVs have been snatched at gunpoint from south and west Delhi, reports Vijaita Singh.

They are pointing guns to steal cars now. And if it’s a luxury Sedan you drive or an SUV, you have more reasons to be on your toes. In the past three months, 15 high-end cars and SUVs have been snatched at gunpoint from south and west Delhi. The police, meanwhile, are driving home a rather curious point. The demand for expensive cars, they say, has gone up in the backdrop of the Lok Sabha elections.

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Another incident of armed men stealing an SUV was reported on Thursday from Vasant Vihar in south Delhi. The incident took place around 10 pm after the driver parked the Ford Endeavour opposite the Vasant Continental hotel.

“I had gone to the hotel for dinner and my driver was waiting for me at the parking lot outside. Around 10 pm he called me to inform that a man had knocked on the car’s window. When he opened it, another man appeared on the scene and whipped out a pistol. They forced the driver to take the back-seat as one of them drove on. My driver got so scared he jumped out of the moving car,” said Sanjiv Saddy, a chartered accountant, who lost his SUV.

Police said instead of stealing the luxury cars, the thieves have started snatching cars at gunpoint. “When a car is snatched, the accused not only gets the original key but also the original registration papers. This helps them in disposing the car easily,” a senior police officer said.

Police suspect an automobile thief from Paschim Vihar, Daya Shankar, is responsible for the recent spurt in the crime. Shankar reportedly has 12 cases registered against him.

On March 22, the Special Staff of south district had arrested two men including a policeman involved in robbing cars in south Delhi. These men were associates of Shankar.

“These cars are generally sold in the Northeastern to unsuspecting customers. As the thieves have the original papers and the registration papers it becomes easier for them to sell these cars,” the officer said.