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Stealing tough, carjackings rise [Delhi] [Times of India](Times of India Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) NEW DELHI: The good news is that the security chips car manufacturers have been embedding in ignition keys for the past few years really deter thieves. But the bad news is that cases of carjacking have shot up as a result. Toyota Fortuner and Innova, Swift Dzire, and Mahindra Bolero and Scorpio-all of them popular with taxi services-are the most sought-after cars this year, police say. Fourteen carjackings have already happened in the city this year, in line with the 60-odd reported through entire 2013, and the crime branch claims to have solved nine of them. Just last week, a gang snatched a Hyundai Verna after stabbing its driver several times in Vasant Kunj, and a Swift Dzire in northwest Delhi on Friday night. However, the actual incidence of carjacking could be much higher as many cases are registered under sections of robbery when money and other valuables are also lost. Many others are reported as theft to speed up insurance payouts. Police give an 'untraced' report for a stolen car in 21 days while in a case of robbery, the owner has to wait for around six months, said a senior officer. What's worrying police is that carjacking has transformed into an organized crime and vehicles are being targeted based on market demand. Notorious carjackers like Phool Singh, who was killed in an encounter, and Manoj Bakkarwala have been the faces of this new crime wave. An officer said the syndicate works out of Meerut and other parts of Uttar Pradesh, and concentrates on buying high-end "total loss" vehicles-those damaged beyond repair in serious accidents-as scrap. While it sells off the body shell and mechanicals, it retains the vehicle's registration certificate and the engine/chassis identification plate. After this, robbers are asked to get cars of the same make. "Now, even if a thief makes a key for an Innova or Fortuner, the engine control module (ECM) does not read it and the vehicle doesn't start. The duplicate ECMs available with thieves work only with vehicles made during 2005-2009," said the officer explaining why more cars are being robbed rather than stolen. The robbed vehicle's identification plate is replaced with that from the scrapped vehicle. If necessary, it is repainted in the colour mentioned in the scrapped vehicle's RC. The vehicles are being pushed towards Punjab and Haryana, where SUVs are much in demand, and also to the Northeast. Nepal also remains a destination for many of these vehicles. Police have spotted another worrying trend: a carjacking is often followed by a spate of sensational crimes. It happened in cases such as the Lajpat Nagar multi-crore robbery and the Defence Colony cash van heist. "If the syndicate does not want a robbed vehicle, the robbers themselves use it in committing a crime and then sell it off," the officer said. Responding to the increase in carjacking, the commissioner of police has tasked additional CP (crime) Ravindra Yadav and ACP K P S Malhotra with investigating such cases. (c) 2014 Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited |