Mumbai cops recover just 1 in 3 stolen cars

A totally of 19,907 cars, worth Rs 254 crore, were stolen within the city from 2013 to 2018. However, only cars worth a total of Rs 74 crore have been recovered, an RTI query has revealed.

The information sought by RTI activist Shakeel Ahmed Shaikh revealed the number of FIRs pertaining to vehicle theft have shown an upward trend, while ground level detection remains low.

Police say the most common motive for thefts is to dismantle the vehicle and resell parts such as internals, tyres and music systems, which have a high resale value.

"The recovery rate is only 28.79 per cent (5,732 vehicles), which is abysmal compared to the number of cases registered," said Shaikh.

While the police accept the problem, it also takes pride in bringing down the number of theft cases year after year. "The value of the stolen vehicles, which was about Rs 62 crore in 2013, has come down to Rs 31.53 crore in 2018," said an officer, "The number of cases registered has also shrunk from 3,789 in 2013 to 3,203 in 2018. The numbers fluctuate, but we have ensured that the cases don't go up."

Car burglars have also updated their technological skills to break complex security systems. "Burglars have evolved to get away with expensive cars easily and we have adapted accordingly," said a senior police officer.

"The Police claims to have installed CCTV cameras across the city for better surveillance, but data proves otherwise," said Shaikh.

Wheeler-Dealers

• Cars worth Rs 254 crore were stolen in the city from 2013 to 2018
• Of those, only cars worth Rs 74 crore have been recovered
• This puts the recovery rate of the city police at 28.79 per cent