A study conducted by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime regarding automobile theft, has ranked India at sixth position among 25 major countries (2014 data). The biggest concern of the hour is the increasing rate of auto theft in India where a vehicle is stolen every three minutes. Over the past decade, auto thefts have risen by a whopping 105% in India.
On a regional platform, a nationwide study (2014 data) by National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) revealed that Uttar Pradesh (UP) ranked first with 28,000 cases registered for auto-theft. In all 28,664 private vehicles were robbed from 75 districts in UP. Police recovered a meager number of vehicles, 3803.
The theft of 24,236 two-wheelers points to the fact that they are an easy target. The number of cars and Light Motor Vehicles (LMV) stolen was comparatively low at 2803. The study shows that police had recovered 12% bikes while the percentage of car recovery was 13%.
As far as transportation vehicles are concerned, 456 goods carrier, 10 public buses, and 35 three-wheelers were stolen. Among the government vehicles, three motorcycles and one car was reported for theft.
A police official mentioned that as auto thefts amount to easy money, a lot of youngsters are attracted towards this vice. The use of modern technologies like GPS, high-tech alarm systems and other gadgets might be instrumental in reducing the rate.