Car thefts on the rise in South Mumbai
Jaba Shah, Downtown Mumbai, Times of India – Mumbai,

INCIDENTS of car thefts are increasing in South Mumbai, Recently, Chowpatty resident, Dr Ganjawala’s brand new Qualis was stolen. A complaint was filed with Tardeo police station, but the car is yet to be found. According to sources, in the last month, at least 15 new Qualises have been stolen from the Chowpatty-Peddar Road belt.

A huge nexus of dealers and car thieves is operating in the city and this has caused concern among South Mumbai Residents, who claim their vehicles are not safe anymore, with thieves now even outsmarting expensive security gadgets.

A resident of Nepean Sea Road, K Shivdasani (name changed), says: “Earlier, when there were fewer cars on the road, they were safer. An increase in the number of cars is resulting in more thefts and fewer detections. Almost every red Maruti Zen or blue Hyundai Santro looks the same. The upholstery is also similar. So even if your stolen car’s parked next to you, it would be difficult for you to confidently say that it belongs to you”.

Giving details of how the car theft operation works, a police officer, on conditions of anonymity, says: “Once the car is stolen, the thieves change the number plate and get bogus car papers. After that, the stolen car is kept at any local parking lot for four to five days. The thieves pay the parking guys Rs. 200 and instruct them to let the car be. After about a week, the colour of the car is changed and it’s driven out of the state through the different national highway routes. Once outside city limits, the vehicles are sold to unsuspecting people at throwaway prices.”

Giving tips on safeguarding your car, Zulfiquar Abid Ali, a resident of Warden Road, says: “You could fit your car with a gear to clutch or steering wheel lock. You could also install a disconnecter system. The windscreen and glasses of the car can be inscribed with the registration number, like we do on steel utensils. So in case of theft, it makes it that much easier to identity the stolen vehicle.”

The growing number of the car robberies has caused alarm among the denizens of South Mumbai.

According to constable Salvi, who is attached to the RTO, “Most of the time, thieves use duplicate keys to steal vehicles. These days cars have four keys – for the dickey, petrol cap, doors and ignition. If the petrol cap falls off, thieves make a duplicate key using the cap and then steal the car. Sometimes, when the car is being stolen from right under the building where it is parked, the thieves actually carry the vehicle a few metres away and then drive off with it,”

Giving more details on the racket, he said: “When a car theft complaint is filed with police, we generally tell the party that if the car is not found in 15 days, then they should forget about it.” He adds that stolen cars take about 15 days to be transported out of the city. And once that happens, it is very, very difficult to track it down.

Says Vibhuti Shah, a resident of Chowpatty: “A few weeks ago we bought a Siena. We park the car in our compound, which does not have any security guard. In the first week itself, the wheel caps, side panel and wipers were stolen. I did not bother filing a police complaint, as this is a regular feature in our area. The police does nothing even though they know who all are involved. They are all hand-in-grove. I just went to Chor Bazaar and picked up all that was stolen from my car for a price. I know for a fact it was mine as we had alone a pooja and the mark was there.”

According to Amjadbhai, a Kalbadevi mechanic, many rag pickers are involved in car theft. “They steal wheel plates, wipers and side view mirrors from cars. Apart from accessories, they also steal parts like the alternator, battery and dynamo from cars and come to sell it to us. Though we never buy stolen goods, even if they are cheaper, there are a lot of mechanics in the city who have such guys on their payroll and are doing good business.”

Speaking on anti-car theft security systems, a police officer explains: “These thieves are very smart. They use magnets to demagnetise the car system. Once they break inside the car, they deactivate the system and casually drive away.”