[dailydriver]

I had been following (now ex) Mumbai top cop Rakesh Maria's career ever since his name cropped up in connection with the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

Even though I was eager to get hold of his memoir which came out some time last year, it was only recently that I was able to download a copy (for free) on my Kindle and go through it in a space of two days, amidst my other preoccupations.

Now, why would a sane minded Bhpian start a thread on a cop's book in the Indian Car Scene section of the forum?

The answer lies in two pages of Chapter 26 (Stop It If You Can) of the book.

While investigating a terror case, Mr. Maria and his team realise that stolen vehicles were extensively being used to plant bombs and to carry out anti social activities.

Vehicle theft is... one of the most organised of crimes and since the terrorists had chosen to rely on the stolen car market to pack the explosives, we had a good chance of car thieves leading us to them.

They try to get deep into the process and as a result, end up discovering the following:

WHO?

Crime, like bespoke tailoring, has its specialisations. You have master cutters who will do only men’s suits and dressmakers who are ‘specialists in ladies’ salwar-kameez’. And just as a sherwani maker will not make a lehenga, a pickpocket will not indulge in housebreaking and a car thief will not waste his time on a bank.

Motor vehicle theft is a very niche crime, not every criminal’s cup of tea. Within the niche, there are further super-specialities: four-wheeler theft, two-wheeler theft, theft of trucks, dumpers, tempos and so on.

WHY?

Car thefts don’t happen randomly. They are carried out to fulfil specific orders, placed for different makes of cars. For the car thieves, the makes have code words, mostly borrowed from the kingdom of animals, birds, fruits and vegetables.

Interestingly, he details how different sought-after models of cars are referred to by catchy nom de guerres.

A stolen Scorpio becomes a Cheetah and, in 2008, a Cheetah in the grey market cost 3.25 lakhs; a Qualis cost a little above three lakhs and was called Koyal or Coolie; a Tavera, called Tamatar (tomato) cost 3.5 lakhs.

In the 2.25 lakh bracket fell the smaller makes: Santro called Santra (orange), Alto called Aloo (potato), Zen called Jamun (syzygium jambolanum), Baleno called Pyaaz (onion) and Swift called Mendak (frog). Wagon R called Baingan (brinjal), Bolero called Babloo, and Innova called Eno cost around three lakhs.

WHERE?

Like the fruit and vegetable market, the market for stolen vehicles is a seasonal one. For example, on the eve of elections in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, there is a sudden demand for Scorpios, Taveras and Innovas – vehicles that are most convenient and hardy for campaigning. Demand also varies by region: Innovas, Scorpios and Taveras are more in demand in states which have a very demanding terrain, like the Northeast. Then there is a niche market for stolen Pajeros, in places such as Delhi, Haryana and the surrounding areas where it is a symbol of status and power.

HOW?

After a party in need of a stolen car places an order with a gang for a particular make of a car, a countrywide search commences for the car documents of that make, genuinely written off in a road accident. Once located, the papers of that vehicle are ‘bought’ by bribing the staff of the concerned RTO.

Simultaneously, from the ‘database’ of car thieves, a headhunt commences for a suitable operative who is proficient at stealing the vehicle. He is called a ‘Machine’. The Machine does thorough research to understand the routine of the owner and the topography of the locale where he parks the vehicle etc. Once he has mastered all the parameters, the Machine decides the right time and place for the theft.

The vehicle is then neatly swiped and takes the identity of the vehicle destroyed in the accident. Before a stolen vehicle reaches its final destination, more often than not, it gets a makeover, in addition to a fake or forged number plate and papers. There are specialists and exclusive garages and mechanics who do these jobs as not everyone has the wherewithal to get into such a business.

Then very often, the stolen vehicle is driven from one state to another in stages, by different drivers, like a relay race. The relay drivers are kept in the dark about each other’s identity. This is done because in the eventuality of a driver falling into the police dragnet, he is at a loss to give the police any clues about the thief or the final delivery point. There are cut-offs in the entire crime chain. Then there are territorial norms. Certain gangs operate only in certain areas. They will not trespass into others’ areas.

HOW MANY?

From Mumbai alone, an average of a whopping 3,500 vehicles are stolen every year!

Source: Let Me Say It Now.

Disclaimer:

1. No affiliations whatsoever. Not promoting the book or the author.
2. The entire quoted text is taken as is from the source. All rights belong to the author and publisher.
3. Emphasis and paragraph divisions of the quoted text are mine.

[CoffeeBeans]

Very interesting topic. I feel that usually police knows way more about car thefts than what's mentioned here specially in ripe markets like in NCR.
I had my first bike - a new Bajaj Pulsar 200 stolen in 2009 in Noida after just two months of ownership. When I went to file an FIR, police plainly refused to file it saying that it wouldn't matter as the bike must have crossed state borders by now and would be dismantled for parts. After some palm greasing they did file the FIR but took no effort to investigate or find the bike at all and took more bribes to provide documents for insurance claims. It was very clear that Noida police was in cahoots with the thefts and were doing their best to discourage victims from filing FIR or making any attempts to find the vehicle. And it was not just me, I had atleast 6-7 similar incidents with both 2 and 4 wheelers in my circle in the couple of years that I lived there. No offence to honest members of the police, but I feel that usually police is a part of operations if they are happening at such organized and large scale. And then you hear stories like this https://www.cartoq.com/up-police-officer-stolen-car/

[RedTerrano]

After all the data collated over the years by the cops, and factoring in the possible severe terrorist threat, you would expect cops to be more on the alert regarding crimes involving vehicles.
Sadly the reality is bitterly different.

Some dude parked his vehicle near a police station, thinking it would be safer there. Got the shock of his life the next day.



Source

[anjan_c2007]

Agree fully with the ex- Mumbai Top Cop, who has very succinctly revealed the scheming, devious and crafty methodologies adapted by the car thieves to fulfil their unlawful objectives. Right from the filing of a FIR to panchnama, to prolonged investigations and interrogations after arrest (if at all arrested), his jottings appear to be based on real-life facts revealed by the criminals to the police. Its extremely praiseworthy of him to have brought out such very less known facts and methodologies for public consumption.

Mr Rakesh Maria retired in 2017 as Director General, Home Guards, Maharashtra, after being at the helm of Mumbai Police as Commissioner since 2014 till 2015. Hence, the basics for the car thieves remain the same, but the practices and methods used could have changed much during the past four to five years. A whole new generation of cars and SUV's have emerged in our market today. We have very recently seen the CCTV footage of how a Jeep Compass was stolen stealthily in a residential locality in Delhi very recently in February 2021.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...n-delhi-4.html (CCTV video: Jeep Compass stolen in Delhi)

It is common knowledge that cars once stolen in the present times are becoming extremely difficult to get traced and to be handed back to its owner. This is because the thieves are constantly innovating their methodologies, solely aimed at hacking and taming the hi-tech gizmos fitted as safety devices to new cars and relocating the stolen cars to unimaginable locations and ending up with unthinkable owner/s (plural because if scrapped, spares end up with many owners). I wonder where the once, decade old hi-tech OE key immobiliser stands in these scheme of things today? And the thieves' innovation is always to outwit the law enforcement and detection agencies. The outlaws are a few steps ahead of the law enforcers, always. Detection rates are very poor.

The police force also needs specialists, who have the knack to learn and grasp more on various fields of criminology and criminal psychology. Like for instance, car theft detecting cops need to be encouraged to specialise, get trained again and again with refresher courses and they need to be branded as such. Apart from the generalists in the cops' cadre, they also need to have specialists, who need to be entrusted with only such specialised jobs for which they develop expertise in. Every Police Commissionerate for instance needs to have cells for such specialists from different fields of criminology, who can be entrusted with investigation of such jobs, when called for.

[Nithesh_M]

People not removing their vehicle identification sticker from the rear quarter window panel for years after taking delivery are highly prone to getting their cars stolen.

Dealers themselves get with criminals and forge keys and now can replicate smart keys from reading the tag details.

So if anyone is reading this thread and has that vehicle detail sticker still stuck on the car's rear window glass go ahead and remove it. Shred it while you're at it.

[pandabear]

Originally Posted by Nithesh_M

People not removing their vehicle identification sticker from the rear quarter window panel for years after taking delivery are highly prone to getting their cars stolen.

Dealers themselves get with criminals and forge keys and now can replicate smart keys from reading the tag details.

So if anyone is reading this thread and has that vehicle detail sticker still stuck on the car's rear window glass go ahead and remove it. Shred it while you're at it.

Sorry I still don't get it. The VIN is visible through the front windshield, and that should be enough to get the details. What special information does the sticker have?

[libranof1987]

Read this book last year; Rakesh Maria has essentially put out in the open what is already known. You'd have to be blissfully ignorant to be surprised by this book.

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Agree fully with the ex- Mumbai Top Cop, who has very succinctly revealed the scheming, devious and crafty methodologies

While it is an engrossing read; you can't help but realize what a sitting duck the common Indian man is. They have EVERY resource at their disposal to solve these cases but won't always, for reasons best not known to us.

[ashishy]

Originally Posted by Nithesh_M

Dealers themselves get with criminals and forge keys and now can replicate smart keys from reading the tag details.

The registration number is enough then if I have a contact in the dealership. Not having a sticker will not be a deal-breaker

[ruzbehxyz]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

I had been following (now ex) Mumbai top cop Rakesh Maria's career ever since his name cropped up in connection with the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

Source: Let Me Say It Now.

Thanks for sharing.

I would definitely buy this book from Amazon.
Car theft is a serious crime in India and unfortunately the owner is always brought to task. Lets hope there is some transparency in the future and such crimes are reduced.

Some time back, theft prevention measures like number plate etching came into practice but that never really took off. Now we have high security number plates. Let's see how this will prevent theft.

[midazolam]

Thanks for the thread, definitely very interesting read. Will take out time and read the books also. Thanks

[VJ05]

On a lighter note - With all the middlemen involved in the syndicate and multiple person involved in a single theft, I wonder how much money the original thief would receive in a deal of 2-3 lakhs rupees. Risk reward ratio is not favourable for this person.

However on a serious note, sometimes I feel what's the use of technology in today's world if it's not able to stop car theft. With all the tech these car manufacturers possess, at least they should be able to produce anti-theft cars. May be some specialised start-up in Silicon Valley can develop such technology. Worthwhile to know the data of car robbery happens in Western world compared to India.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by CoffeeBeans

I had my first bike - a new Bajaj Pulsar 200 stolen in 2009 in Noida after just two months of ownership.

I assume you never recovered the bike? What happens when it comes to insurance claims? If the cops won't let you file an FIR, how do you recover your money?

No offence to honest members of the police, but I feel that usually police is a part of operations if they are happening at such organized and large scale.

There is no need to write this. If an honest cop can't help you, then he or she is also part of the game and that is not how a public servant should treat you.

[no_fear]

Most of the information with regards to vehicle owners' movements are easily obtained from the domestic help, building watch guards or through service mechanics and vehicle dealerships. The phrase "loose lips sink ships" is the key operative here.

A few years back my neighbor's car was stolen from inside the apartment complex. The domestic help unwittingly told the thieves when her employers were out of state. Apartment was broken into, car keys taken and car driven away.

Also, now with the proliferation of social media, it is very easy to find out where someone lives and what vehicles the person drives.

Police know most of the fencers and middle men in this trade. Police will only get involved in recovery, if it is a high profile case or media reports the matter. For the police, its a matter of whether they actually want to use resources to solve such cases. They often treat vehicle theft as a victimless crime since the vehicle owner will be compensated by insurance company.

[Torquefreak]

This is certainly a scary topic, understandably one that most of us choose to not think about!
I had a similar experience when I got my phone stolen last year, the police agreed to take down a report but said it's pointless to file an FIR. When I told them that the perp had switched off my phone when I tried calling it, they said it'll be stripped for parts by the next day.
In terms of a solution, there was a thread here earlier about using the newly released Apple AirTags hidden somewhere in the car as a Lo-Jack to trace the car in event of something unfortunate.
The best prevention is and will always be a gated parking with security and cams.

[CoffeeBeans]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I assume you never recovered the bike? What happens when it comes to insurance claims? If the cops won't let you file an FIR, how do you recover your money?

There is no need to write this. If an honest cop can't help you, then he or she is also part of the game and that is not how a public servant should treat you.

Nope, bike was never recovered. After bribing the police SHO and my then landlord pulling some strings, I finally got the copy of FIR for insurance claims. Had to bribe again to close the case as not solvable to receive the insurance 6 months later. However due to delay in providing FIR to insurance company (they had a clause of providing FIR for any incident within 24hrs) they agreed only on settling 75% of the bike's value, which I took without much dispute.