38 vehicles recovered, owners missing

38 vehicles recovered, owners missing
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

PUNE, MAY 16: The Chatuhshrungi police have lost their sleep over a peculiar problem. Their spirits soared when they succeeded in recovering 38 ``stolen'' vehicles from a young priest arrested last month. But, they are now finding it difficult to trace the owners of these vehicles due to lack of clues.

``Several difficulties are cropping up because Macchindra Awate (28), the priest, had changed the registration numbers of the stolen vehicles before selling them off for paltry amounts. True, we have the engine and chassis numbers of the recovered vehicles. But, the problem is that the RTO officials say they just cannot trace the owners in the absence of the registration numbers,'' conceded police inspector M B Apune.

This has resulted in a piquant situation. The police have been running from pillar to post to track down the owners while the confiscated vehicles gather dust at the police station campus. The police are left clueless and are unable to decide the course of action.

``Normally such vehicles are disposed of in an auction after obtaining court's permission. But, it's a lengthy procedure. Moreover, if we cannot produce the vehicle owners, it would mean that we failed in gathering evidence as the vehicle owners are prime witnesses in any vehicle lifting case,'' the officials say.

In a desperate bid to find out the vehicle owners, the police had approached the vehicle manufacturing companies. However, the maximum these companies could offer were the names and addresses of the dealers from across the State to whom they had supplied the vehicles. The police have written to these dealers. But not a single dealer has responded to their queries till now.

Awate, who hails from Andalgaon village in Shirur taluka, had been arrested on basis of suspicion while riding a stolen vehicle near Wakad Phata on the Katraj-Dehu Road bypass road.