Car theft incidents surge amid inefficiency of ACLC officers

Numerous complaints had been lodged against alleged rampant corruption within the Cell

LAHORE: There has been a surge in vehicle thefts across the city of Lahore which has left citizens both worried and angry with the Anti-Car Lifting Cell (ACLC). Records show that during the first six months of the ongoing year, more than 4,400 cars, motorcycles and other commercial vehicles worth millions of rupees were stolen.

Despite numerous complaints lodged by some officials against the alleged corruption and misuse of authority of certain ACLC police officers, no action has been taken against anyone.

According to police sources, staffers and officers working for the ACLC earn millions of rupees per month upon returning the recovered vehicles to their real owners.

What’s more, despite the formation of a separate ACLC wing to trace stolen vehicles, authorities have failed to recover many cars and motorcycles owing to their negligence and irresponsible attitude. As a result, the crime of car theft continues unabated and vehicles keep disappearing in broad daylight to add to the misery of the citizens.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the FIR record of stolen cars and motorcycles is sent to the concerned divisional officer of Anti-Vehicle Lifting Staff. Once received, the complaints are confined to files that keep piling up and no real effort is invested in the cases.

A police report shows that the majority of car theft incidents took place in Lahore’s Saddar Division where a total of 1076 cars, motorcycles and other vehicles were stolen or snatched.

In city division, 904 incidents of stolen motorcycles, cars and other vehicles took place, whereas, in the Cantonment Division, 852 vehicle-theft incidents took place.

Similarly, around 650 incidents took place in the Model Town Division, 500 in the Iqbal Town Division and 400 in the Civil Lines Division.

Sources also said that apart from the negligent attitude of the concerned officers towards the cases, internal power conflicts among officers and staffers have been going on for a long time because of which real issues are sidelined.

Sources also added that the higher ups of the department have been sweeping the matter under the rug for a long time. Some ACLC officers discreetly informed the Inspector General Punjab Captain (retd) Arif Nawaz Khan and Capital City Police Officer Lahore BA Nasir about the ongoing corruption in the department. However, no action has so far been taken against the officers concerned for their corrupt practices and lukewarm attitude towards their responsibilities.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11^th, 2019.