After Delhi CM’s car theft, data reveals more than 30000 vehicles thefts occured this year

The theft of the vehicle of the Delhi Chief minister Arvind Kejrival from the VIP zone of Delhi secretariat has raised many serious questions about the vigilance and the investigatve potential of law enforcing agencies as well as those expert in tracing the vehicle thefts.

There is no doubt that Delhi being the mini India with large scale influx of migrants coming here in search of jobs and returning in neglibible numbers back to their hometown had added to the law and order problems of Delhi.

The non filling of posts of constables and highers posts in Delhi police and stationing of the vast numbers of police personels in VIP securities also adds to the vows of the police system not able to resolve the cases of crimes and thefts in Delhi. If we go by the statistics of Delhi police and NCRB though other forms of crimes have come down in Delhi, the cases of theft of vehicles has increased dramatically till September, 2017 as reported in TOI.

Shockingly, the cases of thefts till this period has expeditiously shot up to 30,449 as compared to 28, 760 vehicle thefts in the year 2016 till last September with a negligible rate of resolution. There have been reports that the authorities concerned have been too callous and negligent in investigating the matters of car thefts and leave it as the subject of their lowest priority obviously perhaps due to the shortage of staff in Delhi police and the crime branch.

Another vital reason seems to be the involvement of the police in resolution of other serious crimes of murders and decoities including cases of rapes and sexual assaults which are more prominently hyped in the electronic and print media having socio political overtones.

In the capital city of Delhi the cases of chain snatchings, robberies and thefts including crimes related to murders are definitely on the rise but the vehicle thefts with lowest resolution are on the increase as these crimes do not invite much serious imprisonment with majority of the thieves being out on bail forming more gangs with multiple vehicle thefts.

Moreover, the stolen vehicles are taken to other states and got dismantled completely thus selling their parts in various CHOR BAZAARS OF INDIA leaving nothing behind as evidence. Another important aspect of the police being not that serious in tracing the vehicles is the highly cumbersome process involved in the investigations and majority of the vehicles being fully insured with the victims claiming the costs from the insurance companies.

Ultimately its the insurance companies who are constrained to pay to the victims of vehicle thefts than the responsibilty of the police. The complainants who have little or negligible faith in the competence or capabilty of the police to resolve their theft cases are only and solely interested in getting their FIRST INFORMATION REPORT registered in the police stations falling under the jurisdiction of the area where the vehicle theft has been committed.

This FIR is mandatory for claiming the insurance amount, if not fully than atleast 60 to 80% of the loss. As per the Hindi proverb BHAAGTE BHOOT KE HAATH LANGOT HI SAHI. Keeping in view the rapidly increasing thefts of vehicles in DELHI, the Delhi police and the crime branch have to refine, reactivate, re energise and vigilantise its actions and know how at the decentralised police station levels and control the fastly increasing crimes and vehicular thefts in DELHI. This is the urgent need of the hour.

SUNIL NEGI