Pune
The Pune police jurisdiction has seen a rise in bike theft cases with 565 two-wheelers stolen from various public places till May-end this year, at a daily average of three to four cases. According to city police, the value of these stolen vehicles is in the range of ₹ 2.70 crores.
A few days ago, a spate of two-wheeler thefts were reported when 21 two-wheelers estimated to be worth ₹ 5.34 lakh were stolen on a single day. As per city police records, a total of 1,156 two-wheelers were stolen in 2020, 1,504 in 2021, and 1910 in 2022.
Police have noticed that two-wheeler thieves have been targeting areas near colleges, coaching classes, and public parking spaces across the city. The crime officials suggested that an additional lock was essential to prevent vehicle thefts.
Reacting to the issue, DCP (Crime) Amol Zende said, “A special squad has been instituted by the crime branch to solve these cases. The crime branch has been investigating the CCTV footage and doing its analysis of the spots from where the vehicles were found stolen. We are doing the investigation on a mission mode basis and are hopeful of quick decisions soon.”
The police informed that maximum vehicle thefts have taken place in Kondhwa, Loni Kalbhor, Ahmednagar Road, Yerawada and Chatuhshringi Police station jurisdictions wherein 690 vehicles were stolen last year.
Similarly, the Sassoon Hospital area and Swargate ST Bus stand have emerged as hotspots of vehicle thefts.
As per the police survey, most of the vehicles were stolen late at night, wherein the handle-locks were broken, and the vehicles were sold to prospective buyers in the neighbouring districts.
Sanjay Kamble whose two-wheeler was stolen from Kondhwa last month, said “I had locked my bike and thought it was safe in the building parking. However, my worst fears came true when I saw that my two-wheeler was missing from the spot. Despite the investigation, there are dim chances that it will be recovered as the bike might have been dismantled and its chassis number destroyed.”
