AFTER sustained pressure led to dip in house-breaking thefts (HBTs), police officials are now grappling with the sudden rise in thefts of vehicles in the jurisdictions of Ajni and Hudkeshwar police stations in the city as about 99 vehicles were reported stolen in past five months of this year. Now, cops have to reassess their strategy to checkmate the vehicle-lifters. A top rank police official said that 37 vehicles were stolen from Hudkeshwar area, while 28 were stolen from Ajni area till May last year. The theft cases rose to 48 in Hudkeshwar and 51 in Ajni area this year (till May). Ajni and Hudkeshwar police stations share boundaries and several new localities have come-up in their jurisdictions. As a result, the total number of thefts have also increased in Nagpur city. As compared to 573 vehicle thefts in May last year, the 12.63 per cent increase in vehicle thefts this year pushed the total tally to 656 till May. When contacted DCP Zone IV Nurool Hasan informed ‘The Hitavada’ that as against the rise in theft cases, three gangs of vehicle lifters were busted by the police and around 50 stolen twowheelers were recovered. “In Zone IV, a total of 179 vehicle thefts were reported this year till May as against 400 vehicle thefts last year,” he said. Sources claimed that the significant rise in vehicle thefts was a matter of concern for the residents. The thieves are targeting two-wheelers parked in Government Medical College and Hospital, Cancer Hospital, Superspeciality Hospital, Rameshwari, Manewada Square and Ring Road. Casual attitude of owners towards anti-theft precaution is also an important reason behind the spate in theft cases, reveals the post investigations in these cases. As there are public places for thieves it becomes easy to lift their vehicle at their timing and no one gets any wiser as security is lax, particularly in government run hospitals. A majority of the vehicles stolen were two-wheelers as their locks are easy to break while four-wheelers have more high-tech security systems that are difficult to crack. Police officials pointed out that quick changeover of number plates was also an important factor contributing towards motor vehicle thefts. Also disposal of two wheelers is an easy task and provides quick returns to those involved in its theft. In the case of a four-wheeler theft however, changing hands is not so easy as there are far too many records of the vehicles, that of servicing, insurance and other factors. For the cops the worrying factor is increasing involvement of minors in vehicle stealing cases. Earlier some misguided minors were a major headache for police departments in HBTs, and now their foray into vehicle lifting calls for reworking the strategy, feels the cops. The investigators have tasted success when they managed to get some leads that lead to detection in many theft cases, however new FIRs continue to outpace their efforts in cracking down on thefts.