Rising cases don't reflect poor law and order... better reporting is main cause: Madhur Verma

Roughly only 4,000 of the 40,000 stolen vehicles have been recovered. Why is that so?

In many of the cases solved by the police, it has been found that several gangs operating in Delhi were interstate gangs. The national Capital has a porous border which is why gang members, after stealing a vehicle, escape within a matter of hours. There are manned pickets at borders but there are unmanned roads as well which go towards Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Is there any other reason?

The second reason for the increase in the number of cases is because of the free online registration of motors thefts which allows anyone to register a case. The feature has been given for everyone's convenience but at times we do see it being misused. In some cases, people park and forget, whereas in some cases, people in other states who are unable to get their FIR registered misuse the online facility and register with the Delhi police.

What are the problems faced by the Delhi police in recovering a vehicle?

As I was mentioning, vehicles are taken out of the national Capital, making it easier for gangs to dispose them of. A new modus operandi has come to the fore in which the engine control module (ECM), which is there in all automatic or luxury cars these days, is duplicated. Gangs which are stealing vehicles tend to create a duplicate ECM or hack the system by means of technology which fails the existing ECM system and the car operates as per the duplicate ECM.

What are the steps being taken, or to be taken, by the police to deal with car lifters and robbers?

Each district under the Delhi police has its Anti Auto Theft Squad (AATS) which is a dedicated unit in terms of cases related to motor vehicle theft. Also, the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police, which is also the nodal agency for motor vehicle thefts, constantly keeps upgrading itself with new modi operandi used by car lifters. The information and new methods used by various gang members are studied in order to make sure they are behind the bars.

What could a car owner do in terms of securing his/her vehicle?

We have always through our campaigns, social media messages and meetings with Resident Welfare Associations appealed to citizens to adopt the old methods of securing their vehicle such as gear locks, clutch locks and steering locks. The security system of a luxury automatic car can also be bypassed. Hence, the old manual security methods help. It not only makes stealing a vehicle difficult but is also time-consuming. Also, new technology cars must install GPS devices which either immobilise the vehicle or track its location. Even when residents have to park their vehicles, they should only do so in authorised or manned locations and not in any bylanes.