Vehicle Theft: Price rise of automobiles, soaring demand trigger theft of vehicles | Nagpur News

Nagpur: Increasing number of automobile thefts seems to be a direct fallout of soaring demand and price hike announced by top vehicle manufacturers in the last one year.City police say that Nagpur city has witnessed a 23% rise in vehicle thefts, mostly two-wheelers, in the last two years. Statistical data released by Nagpur city police shows that on average 130 vehicle thefts were reported per month in 2022. Till April this year, the number rose to about 160 per month. The average in 2023 was 151 vehicles stolen per month.Police say the rise in crime is a direct fallout of price hike announced by automobile manufacturers, who, in turn, have cited inflation, increase in cost of production, compulsory compliances of environmental norms, taxation clauses, expensive raw material and advancements in assembly processes as reasons to escalate prices.On the other hand, the demand for two-wheelers has especially surged in the rural sector, mainly after the job sector got a lift up in the post-Covid scenario. The rural population’s need to travel to the city for jobs has increased their demand for two-wheelers. As a result, two-wheeler thieves have become active, said a senior police official.In 2022, 1,553 vehicle thefts were reported, most of them being two-wheelers, while only 548 cases were solved. Last year, 1,809 vehicle theft cases were recorded and 624 were detected. Till April this year, 639 cases were registered with only 185 detected.The police official said that crooks, earlier into burglaries or robberies, have turned to vehicle thefts, especially of two-wheelers, for fast money. “The thieves usually dispose off the stolen bikes at throwaway prices to village folks who cannot afford to buy from showrooms at a higher price. The thieves either furnish them fake vehicle documents or promise to give the papers at a later date and never show up again,” said a crime branch official, who urged buyers not to walk into such traps. “As and when the theft is detected, the stolen vehicle is recovered and the buyer is booked for purchasing stolen goods,” the official warned.The Tehsil police had last month nabbed a vehicle thief who was an expert in preparing fake RC smart cards using a mobile phone app and a printer. He would initially supply fake RC smart cards to other thieves but later started stealing bikes himself for double gain. “The fake RC smart cards resembled the original so much that identifying them as fake was near impossible for the common man,” said the official.Nagpur city police, under the supervision of CP Ravinder Singal and DCP crime Nimit Goyal, are identifying hotspots of vehicle thefts. “Nagpur city’s map of vehicle theft prone spots is being prepared. On the basis of predictive policing, certain strategies and anti-vehicle theft measures would be designed,” said Goyal, adding the timing and modus operandi of bike thefts is being studied with great detail.Goyal said the police are struggling to prevent thefts of Activa scooters in particular because its locks can be easily opened with similar keys of other types of two-wheelers.“We had written to the manufacturers of Activa scooters about its weak security locking feature. In the past too, different units of Maharashtra police have written to the manufacturers of Activa alerting them about the lock issue but nothing has happened,” said Goyal, adding almost 50% of total two-wheeler thefts involve Activa.Goyal said that using quality locks for two-wheelers and parking at designated places will help avoid thefts.