Another car, bike stolen in capital

Five auto theft cases reported in two days

ISLAMABAD: Despite police claims of eradication of organised auto-theft, cases of car and bike theft are being reported from parts of the capital on a daily basis. One of the places notorious for auto-theft in the capital is the weekly bazaar in Sector H-9. Dozens of bikes and cars were also stolen from this area last year.

On Sunday, auto-thieves stole a Mehran car from the bazaar’s parking. Industrial Area police have registered a case against unidentified people but have found no clue to the suspects. In another case, police have arrested a man who allegedly stole a motorcycle in Sector F-11/1. Five auto theft cases have been reported by the police in two days.

Police officers say 208 cameras installed on roads under the Safe City Project to exclusively read number plates are not very effective nor enough to deal with auto-theft. Also a number of cameras remain dysfunctional due to either construction work on roads or lack of repairs. “We get help from these cameras in only 25 per cent of cases. The rest are to be investigated through traditional ways,” said an officer of the anti-car lifting cell of the capital police.

He said if a car cannot be traced within three-four days of being stolen then it becomes very difficult to recover it, since by then the stolen car would have reached remote areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The officer said while there has been progress in stemming car theft in the capital, the police have not been very successful in controlling motorcycle theft in the city. “Stealing a bike is so easy for the criminals. It takes them seconds to break the lock,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2018.