Worried over repeated car battery theft, Gurugram RWAs demand action

Hindustan Times spoke to a few owners of automobile workshops who revealed the city has a big market of second-hand or used car batteries that sold approximately between ₹1,500 and ₹5,000, depending upon the life of the batteries.

Worried over the theft of as many as six batteries in one night from cars parked in the streets in front of the owners’ respective houses at Sector 23-A on Sunday night, the residents’ welfare association (RWA) of the sector has demanded a thorough investigation from the police.

One of the Maruti cars in Sector 23-A, Gurugram, with its battery stolen . (Sourced)

“We have sought a thorough investigation into the incidents of car battery theft that took place on Sunday night, approximately between 2 am and 3 am, on a WhatsApp group created by the area police officers. All the cars were Marutis that were parked on the street in front of their owners’ respective houses. The thieves were so adept that neither the centralised lock system work nor the security alarm rang in any of the cars. The modus operandi clearly indicates the persons involved are professionals and they have strong links to the battery dealers. We would appreciate the police cracking the link,” Bhawani Shankar Tripathy, general secretary of Sector 23-A RWA, said.

The car owners lodged police complaints individually after the incident.

Brij Sharma, a resident of Sector 23-A, said, “We have two cars; batteries of both cars were stolen. When the cars did not start, I opened their bonnets to find both batteries missing. I informed the RWA and lodged a police complaint and later found out that several residents were missing batteries. We want the police to find the culprits.”

Hindustan Times spoke to a few owners of automobile workshops who revealed the city has a big market of second-hand or used car batteries that sold approximately between ₹1,500 and ₹5,000, depending upon the life of the batteries.

Mahender Singh, a city-based workshop owner, said, “Thieves sell stolen car batteries to workshops, which sell them to car owners who want to purchase used batteries that range between ₹1,500 and ₹5,000. Maruti car batteries are the most common ones that are stolen and sold; we’re not sure of the reason.”

Between August 21 and 27, thieves, who are yet to be tracked down, had stolen 12 car batteries in Sector 22.

In a meeting with the police on August 29, members of the RWAs of sectors 21, 22, 23 and 23-A had raised the car battery theft issue demanding strict action. “The police had assured us of night patrolling, which is taking place. However, three days after our meeting with the police, thieves stole six batteries from Sector 23-A, creating panic,” Bhim Singh, president Sector 22 RWA, said.

The police have set up a team of riders for night patrolling after receiving complaints from Sector 23-A.

“We are investigating the theft; meanwhile we have enhanced night patrolling,” Sumit Kumar, SHO, Palam Vihar, said.