Business zooms for car lifters in State

SHILLONG: After a lull, Meghalaya has yet again become a happy hunting ground for car lifters as more than 700 vehicles were reportedly stolen in the State in the last 5 years.
Data from the State Crime Records Bureau provided to The Shillong Times reveal that this year till March, altogether 46 vehicles were stolen from parts of the State.
As many as 189 vehicles were stolen in the State in 2011.
The number of stolen vehicles went down to 135 in 2012 and even further down to 120 in 2013.
However in the year, 2014, more vehicles were stolen as altogether 147 vehicles were missing and in the year 2015, 116 vehicles were stolen.
According to statistics for the last five years, out of the 753 vehicles which have been stolen in the State, as many as 272 vehicles were stolen in West Garo Hills alone. Apart from West Garo Hills, 181 vehicles have also been stolen from East Khasi Hills in the last five years.
Though the police busted many inter-state gangs involved in the theft of vehicles, there has been no respite as far as the continuation of the crime is concerned.
Moreover, the much hyped high security number plates installed in vehicles seem to be ineffective in protecting them.
It may be mentioned that most of the cars stolen from the city are smuggled to Dimapur in Nagaland and Mizoram.
Recently, concerned over the spurt in cases of theft of Bolero campers (Pick-up Trucks), the East Khasi Hills police had issued advisory.
According to police, there is rampant theft of Bolero campers as it is easy to start the engine without original key coupled with a huge demand in the grey market.
Police wanted the owners/drivers to park their vehicles in secured places and keep their gates locked. Vehicles should not be left parked on the roadside, police said.
There was also a suggestion from the police that the vehicle owners should install anti-theft devices which are easily available in the market and affordable.
Moreover, they should not leave registration papers and other documents inside the car after it is parked which will facilitate the car thieves to easily get through check points, police had said.