Stolen vehicles being used for armed robberies, break-ins

The police have come across a new trend in car thefts in the western suburbs of the city. Special crack teams formed by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 9) Niket Kaushik to track motor vehicle thefts have stumbled upon a new pattern, in which cars are stolen not just for sale, but also for use in subsequent vehicle thefts, armed robberies and house break-ins.

The special teams were formed, under the supervision of assistant commissioners Dilip Suryavanshi and Kishan Shengal of the DN Nagar and Bandra divisions, to monitor car thefts. Tracking certain cases, the teams discovered that along with stealing bigger cars with the intention of selling them, car thieves also stole small cars to scout for larger cars. Besides this, some of the stolen smaller cars were later used for armed robberies.

“Car thieves prefer this part of the city as not only is there a large number of vehicles here, but it is also easy for them to go out of the city limits,” said Kaushik. “In the case of south Mumbai, if the police get to know of a car theft, they can still act and have a good chance of preventing the thieves from leaving the city.”

Officers attached to the special teams said while car thefts were earlier reported more from south Mumbai, it is now rampant in the western suburbs. “After Malabar Hill and other areas in south Mumbai, Bandra, Khar, Lokhandwala and Juhu are now the favoured spots,” said sub inspector N Patil who heads a special team.

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