93 bikes stolen in Gurgaon found in other states

Ten vehicles are stolen every day in Gurgaon on an average. In January itself, the Gurgaon police registered more than 296 cases of vehicle theft.

A number of vehicles stolen from Gurgaon were recently recovered from across the country, the police said.

According to the police, 93 two-wheelers, which were stolen from residents and commuters in Gurgaon since 2012, were recovered in Assam, UP, Bihar, MP and West Bengal. Of these, 16 were recovered in Sitamarhi, Bihar. The police are yet to verify the remaining vehicles.

Ten vehicles are stolen every day in Gurgaon on an average. In January itself, the Gurgaon police registered more than 296 cases of vehicle theft.

Over six gangs, active at night on Gurgaon roads, have been executing the crime in a highly organised fashion. The gangs follow a common modus operandi – steal a vehicle and sell it to scrap and automobile dealers in Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, the police said. The vehicles reach the dealer within a week of being stolen, the police said.

The dealer then dismantles them in less than an hour and sells the parts. As the vehicles are dismantled, the chances of recovery are narrow, the police said. According to the police, the recovery rate at present is 20%.

Of the 10 vehicles stolen every day, two are four-wheelers and eight are bikes, the police said.

The Punjab police too have recovered a large number of cars that were stolen from Gurgaon. The department had recently informed its Haryana counterpart that it had recovered more than 600 cars last year worth`15 crore. Nearly 20% of these vehicles are believed to be from Gurgaon, the police said.

“We often recover vehicles stolen from Gurgaon and other parts of Haryana. We inform the car owner and the Gurgaon police and also write to the police station where the theft case was reported,” Ashish Kapoor, superintendent of police, Mohali in Punjab, said.

Carjacking gangs usually steal SUVs such as Toyota Fortuner, Innova and Mahindra Xylo. These vehicles are mostly resold to businessmen and farmers in Punjab, the police said.

With vehicle thefts constituting almost half of the total crimes registered in Gurgaon, the police claim to have busted several gangs in the last one year, including one from Meerut.

“We have received information from police departments of several states about recovery of vehicles stolen in Gurgaon. We are expecting to get around 150 two-wheelers and more than 20 cars, including SUVs, soon. The vehicles are in police custody at different police stations,” DCP (crime) Balbir Singh said.

A total of 3,728 vehicles were stolen last year, of which 3,525 were motorbikes. Around 117 were other vehicles, including tempos. The number of vehicles stolen in 2014 was 3,500, 3,320 in 2013 and 2,924 in 2012.

“Vehicle theft is a major concern, though we have cracked down on a few gangs and our crime units are working to bust two gangs presently active in the city. This year, we are likely to bring down the number of cases,” Singh said.