New Delhi: Delhi Assembly Deputy Speaker
Amrish Singh Gautam on Sunday became the victim of vehicle thieves
in the national capital when they made away with his brand new
SUV from outside his son's residence in east Delhi.
Gautam's son had taken the SUV and parked it after a
family outing near his Mayur Vihar Phase-III residence at
around 10:30 pm yesterday, but there was no trace of the
vehicle this morning, a senior police official said.
"I bought the Bolero four months ago after availing a
bank loan. My son took it last night. He stays in the first
floor of the building and parked the vehicle near the
building," Gautam, who represents Kondli constituency, said.
This morning, he said, when his son came out he could
not find the vehicle and then informed police about it. "One
of the neighbours claimed that he had seen the vehicle around
5:30 am," Gautam said to a news agency.
He claimed that at least 24 motorcycles were stolen from
Pocket-II and IV of Mayur Vihar Phase-III in the past six
months besides five-six cars. "Motorvehicle thefts are on the
rise in these areas," he said.
A case has been registered and efforts were on to trace
the vehicle, the police official said.
According to Delhi Police statistics, around 10,000
vehicles were stolen from the capital this year so far as
against last year's figure of 11,892 out of which only 2,184
were recovered.
In 2008, the number of vehicles stolen was 9,949 and
recovered ones a dismal 1,934.
The ZIPNET, an official e-platform to share information
among police forces in north India, has uploaded 1,29,221
cases of vehicle theft cases since August 2007.
According to the website, South Delhi topped the list
with 28,849 followed by North-West (17,976), West (16,850),
East (14,862) and South-West (11,388).
With the rise in vehicle thefts as well as street crime,
the Delhi Police has intensified checking of vehicles in the
city in the past few days.
"Anybody who cannot produce registration papers of the
vehicle cannot take the vehicle. We have noticed that a number
of stolen vehicles have been used in committing crimes," the
official said.
Police also advised public to install anti-theft gadgets
like alarm, gear-locks, anti-theft steering wheel lock.
"One should not leave the vehicle unattended without
locking the ignition and removing the key. A significant
number of automobiles are stolen because drivers fail to
remove ignition keys," the official said.
The police official said they suspect that the vehicle
has been driven out of the capital.
"We have alerted the neighbouring states about the
theft. We have provided them with the peculiarities of the SUV
as well as the registration number and other details," the
official said.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, November 28, 2010, 21:42