Auto-theft: Over 80 cars, bikes stolen in two months

Eleven cars stolen within jurisdiction of Industrial Area police, seven in Aabpara

ISLAMABAD: On average, a car is stolen from somewhere in Islamabad every 34 hours and a motorcycle every 38 hours.

A police record shows that a total of 43 cars and 39 motorcycles were lifted in the capital during the two months of May and June.

Industrial Area police recorded the highest number of car theft incidents: 11, while seven vehicles were stolen within the jurisdiction of Aabpara police and six from Koral police precincts. Margalla, Ramna and Khanna police stations registered three car-theft cases each during the period.

Two cars were stolen from Blue Area while one car and two motorcycles from the parking of Faisal Mosque.

With regards to motorcycle theft, Golra police registered seven cases while four motorcycles each were stolen within the jurisdictions of Bhara Kahu, Industrial Area and Sabzi Mandi police stations. In Industrial Area, most of the motorcycle theft incidents took place at H-9 weekly bazaar.

Three police stations on the periphery of the capital — Noon, Nilore and Shams Colony — registered no auto-theft case over the past two months.

The actual number of auto-theft cases might still be higher, since there is no guarantee that police would register every incident in the FIR register.

Police carry out a forensic examination of almost all the vehicles they impound at a forensic science laboratory to check whether the car has been tampered with. A person can also pay a certain fee and deposit their car for the examination but if the vehicle is found tampered with, the owner is booked. At least three persons were booked after they themselves deposited their vehicles to the police but they were found tampered with over the past two months. In one case, the previous owner was booked.

Rescue 15 wing of the police is also compiling a record of stolen vehicles from across Pakistan and had also previously launched a stolen vehicles identification system. Inspector Muhammad Yousaf of Rescue 15 said anybody could visit the Rescue 15 office in Sector G-8 to check status of a used car before buying one through its registration and chassis numbers. He said they were constantly adding to the data of stolen vehicles.

Whenever police impounds a car suspected to have been stolen, police either look up the record of stolen vehicles or carry out a forensic examination of the car. Anti-car lifting cell (ACLC) of the Islamabad Police has recovered hundreds of stolen and tampered with vehicles over the years.

15 cars, 10 bikes recovered

Police also recovered 15 stolen or tampered with vehicles and 10 motorcycles during the two months.

Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of the police have also busted a number of auto-theft gangs over the past few months. On June 11, the SIU arrested two suspects and recovered 16 stolen motorcycles and a motorcycle rickshaw from them.

Inspector Fayyaz Ranjha, who is in-charge of ACLC contradicted that 43 cars had been stolen in two months. He, however, did not say anything when told that the figures had been compiled from the police record. He said the ACLC was working to curb auto-theft in the capital. He, however, did not share any figures.

Neither Islamabad Police Inspector General Tariq Masood Yasin nor SSP (Operations) Sajid Kiani was available for comments.



Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2016.