GUWAHATI, April 29 � Amidst a sharp rise in the number of vehicle theft cases, Assam Police continues to fare poorly; at least the success rate of the investigating agency says so. As per available statistics, every year, approximately 90 per cent of the stolen motor vehicles remain untraced.
Further, the State has also witnessed a rise in the number of vehicle-theft-related murders. In most cases, the driver of the vehicle is killed, if the criminal elements fail to win him over.
In 2011, altogether 2786 motor vehicle thefts were reported from across the State, but police could recover only 287 vehicles during the same period. Percentage wise, the men-in-khakis registered a success rate of just above 10 per cent.
The poor performance of the Assam Police was clear in the preceding years as well, including 2010 when only 316 vehicles could be retrieved from the clutches of the wrong doers against a total of 2130 cases reported during the same period.
In 2009, of the 1720 vehicles that went missing, only 210 were tracked down.
What is ever more surprising is that Guwahati remains the hotbed for the vehicle thefts with over 150 thefts being reported in the last one year. Only 92 motor vehicles were brought back during the same period.
The capital city is followed by Nagaon, Kamrup, Jorhat and Cachar, which recorded 173, 139, 129 and 125 cases respectively.
Conceding that the situation appears grim, a senior Assam Police official said that in the wake of a recent case, all the Senior Superintendants of Police (SSPs) have been asked to adopt some specific mechanism.
Reports also stated that the SPs have been asked to keep vigil on the national highways, especially the dhabas and restaurants.
