Short-staffed vehicle theft detection cell in Navi Mumbai still fledgling

An officer from the vehicle theft detection cell scans a CCTV footage. A man, dressed in a white shirt and trousers and slinging a backpack, is seen walking up to

An officer from the vehicle theft detection cell scans a CCTV footage. A man, dressed in a white shirt and trousers and slinging a backpack, is seen walking up to parked bikes. To the untrained eyes, the man would be just a passerby returning from office after a long day. The man appears again a few minutes later, adjusts one of the bike’s handle and rides away. This was one of the 725 vehicle thefts registered this year.

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Initially, there was a plan to increase the number of officers and constables in the special cell. But recently, the police chief increased the number of officers at local police stations for a similar cell. Currently, almost each police station in the city has an officer and a group of at least four constables to solve vehicle theft cases.

“During our assessment, we found that the crime detection cells at the police stations were short-staffed, so we allocated personnel in these cells. The result has been good as the detection staff has joined in the efforts to solve vehicle theft cases,” said Sanjay Kumar, Navi Mumbai police commissioner.

The Uran police station is among the many police stations with a team of one assistant inspector and five constables. On Thursday, they recovered three bikes from a gang.

The accused Bobby Paswan, 21, Manish Patil, 22, both residents Uran, worked with Kurla resident Taufiq Shaikh, 23. The police said the three men are drug addicts and joined a notorious gang a couple of months ago to steal bikes.

“They would keep the stolen bikes at one of their hideouts for two to three days while searching for a customer. The bikes would be sold for as cheap as ₹4,000 to ₹5,000. We are looking for another accused wanted in the case,” said Jagdish Kulkarni, senior inspector at Uran police station.

Similarly, Khandeshwar police also recovered three bikes this week arresting a 22-year-old only identified as Cyrus. In both the cases, the local police station squads were assisted by the vehicle theft detection cell police.

The vehicle theft detection cell, working under the crime branch, is short-staffed. Two officers and nine constables find themselves spreading too thin. The department was formed in February to tackle the growing number of vehicle thefts in the city following directions by the then police commissioner.

The officers and constables, who until February tracked cases of extortion from gangsters, were tasked to focus on vehicle thefts. The change in the plan of action was due to the fact that cases of extortion were almost negligible but vehicle thefts were escalating.

Out of 725 vehicles stolen this year, 532 included bikes while 157 were cars or jeeps; the remaining 36 were lorries, trucks and trailers. But, the rate of detection is dismal at only 110 cases solved until November.

Last year, for the same period, 780 vehicles including 553 bikes, 193 cars and 34 heavy vehicles were stolen and 268 were recovered.

“Last year, a gang stole only four-wheelers. They first stole Tavera cars, then went on to stealing almost 18 Swift Dzire between September and November. The cases of four-wheeler thefts have now reduced,” said Shirish Pawar, inspector in-charge of vehicle theft detection cell.

A crime branch officer said most stolen vehicles are sold in Rajasthan or Gujarat, but bike thieves continue to evade police. One of the reasons is joyriders, who steal bikes and dump them after the fuel tank empties.

Another group, like the one arrested in Uran, steals bikes and sells them for a paltry sum of ₹5,000. Police suspect the group works under a consolidated gang and efforts are being made to trace them, the officer added.

Officials have instructed attendants at parking lots to be vigilant and also alert the police if any vehicle is found parked for over two days.