[bluevolt]

The incident happened with us this evening while my dad was returning to home from office in our Honda City. He ply on this route for the past twenty years and today we experienced this strange theft incident. Here is how all happened.

My dad's office route is from rohini to civil lines & vice versa. He usually keeps his briefcase on the rear seat along with water bottles. Today while he was returning from the office around 5 PM, some one must have seen his briefcase on the rear seat at some red light at sant nagar or near jahangirpuri. Later at the next red light someone punctured the LHS rear tyre by tearing it by some sharp object. After driving for around 500 meters, a biker approached my dad's car and told that the tyre is punctured. My dad continued driving for further 500 meters as he didn't noticed the puncture and he was further approached by a white color car and was told that the car is punctured which indeed was the case when he stepped out and checked the car.

After parking on road side some 200 meters before the Shalimar Bagh/Sector-18/jail road red light (It has passport office and several car showrooms on the other side where construction work is going on) my dad walked to a tyre puncture guy situated some 50 meters away from the place. As he came back with a puncture guy after five-seven minutes what he saw shocked him and caused us a financial loss of around one lakh rupees + several important documents.

The RHS rear passenger window was thrashed by a brick and the briefcase was stolen. Briefcase contained 70-80 thousand cash along with several important documents like insurance policies, CGHS cards, Cheque books, Passbooks & wallet containing his government identity cards, original driving license, original RC of our City, Voter ID, PAN card and several other documents. By the time he could call the bank and lock the credit/debit cards, Just after 5-10 minutes, the thieves also withdrawn cash - Rs. 7500 (the max limit of dad's credit card limit for the day) in two three instalments from two ATMs (Rs 5000 from one ATM near mukarba chowk and Rs 2500 from Wazirpur ATM).

My dad called PCR and registered the FIR - formal copy they will give tomorrow from the police station. By that time I also locked all cards and changed internet banking passwords but the thieves have done with their job by then. After all policing formalities, i got the spare tyre replaced and came back home and parked the car adjacent to my house's boundary wall and covered it. The puncture guy told be that since there is a small pierce cut in the side wall, this tyre has to be converted to tube type tyre for regular use - is that fine?

Now what all I can do?

I have lost the original RC of my car, dad's original driving license, insurance policy and other documents. Though I have insurance policy on mail and photocopy of my dad's old driving license which was valid upto october 2013.

Is there any hope of getting the documents back? I am not much concerned about the cash as its sure that will not be coming back.

How to reapply for Duplicate RC? I even don't have photocopy of RC/driving license at home, all were in the briefcase.

Where to approach? My local RTO or the place from where car was registered (DL-4C -> janakpuri). Can ring road Honda - from where i purchased my car be of any help with respect to issuance of duplicate RC?

How police is going to help me? I know its our mistake - my dad should not have left the car alone with the briefcase on the rear seat but my dad says someone must had his eye on the brief case at a red light and from where that thieves gang got active and performed the theft by deliberately puncturing the car and confusing the owner by all this. This must be a job of some gang active on outer ring road!

Also what will be the cost of the RHS rear passenger window glass? Does breaking of glass caused any damage to the power window mechanism?

My one more concern is that the documents have our photos and home/office addresses and those thieves have now our addresses also!

Please guide.

[mints21]

Dear bluevolt,

It is very sad and unfortunate to hear this incident that had occurred with your dad. Several such gangs do exist and such instances and advisories have been widely reported on this forum.

However, first and foremost do not worry about the identity theft, these days all companies are very active when someone tries to commit a fraud while concealing his own identity.

Duplicate RC can also be managed and is not a tough task. Only thing you will have to do is a little running around. You can find all details of getting a duplicate RC on the Delhi transport department site. Your cars registration number is more than enough to track your RC. Take a similar approach while applying for the driving licence. The name and address will help you trace that also with the RTO office. I have my doubt that Ring Road Honda will be able to help you. They would guide you to their agent.

Voters ID cards are being made these days in Delhi and are being widely reported in media. You can report the loss and get them as well. By and large you will be able to get all the documents back except money, but you will have to go through some of the painful procedures.

Please expect no help from police in tracing these documents. At the very best they will give you an NCR ( Non Cognisable Report) mentioning the items that have been lost. This document will serve you as a copy of FIR. There is a great possibility that someone may find any document and can call you to handover the same. Thieves would have no interest in any other thing except cash.

However, I find it strange to understand how come they get to know your ATM cards PIN. I think it is a situation where you had kept all eggs in the same basket.

MODS: I have seen similar threads on this forum, I would request if this thread can be merged with them.

[mukeshgoel]

That's really sad.

I know it can happen with anyone no matter how many precautions one takes but it is always good to keep everything in boot. Most of the time my boot is filled with stuff like a garbage bin (more stuff than boot capacity) but the seats are 100% empty. Any visible thing is an invitation to such people.

About duplicate RC and DL, I am sending you a PM with details of an agent of Janapuri RTO who lives in Rohini. You can get in touch with him if you are willing to spend some extra money, it will save you botheration, he will do it at his own, will pick up documents from your home also. I got couple of things done from him.

I have myself seen in known circle that documents after such theft come by post after 8-10 days because thieves have no interest in such documents. Lets hope it happens in this case also.

[lapsi]

Sorry to hear that you became a victim of organized crime. A few points which may help:

1. Your documents could come back by post. Wait for a few days before starting procedures to get duplicate ones.

2. In all probability, the cops know who has committed this crime. If you can get someone senior to apply pressure on the cops, things should move quickly.

3. Tweet to your Chief Minister. Who knows, he may be able to come up with a solution.

Take care.

[rajeev k]

Someone would have known that your dad was carrying money in the briefcase. This sort of theft happened some time back at Koch too. One of my friends purchased some gold from a shop where several jeweleries are located. When they returned from a restaurant the gold kept in the glove compartment had gone.
It is always better to keep valuables below the seats while on the move, so that they do not grab attention at signals and make it a point to not leave the valuables inside when.you leave the car especially on roads and parking lots. Mind you, thieves and rogues are always on the prowl.

[drmohitg]

This is the precise reason why my father always keeps everything in the boot of the car. Atleast its not visible from outside. What happened with you is really unfortunate but very common on our roads. How did the thieves manage to take out cash from your ATM without the password?

[joybhowmik]

Very sorry to hear of this. I hope you get the important documents back.

In Jan 2012, my dad , an octagenarian , was planning to join me at my in-laws house in Chinsurah. His cab dropped him off at Howrah station. At the station gate, there are some steps. As he suffers from chronic knee pain, he was in a quandary as to how to navigate these - that too with his rolling cabin baggage. He was alone at the time.
Nobody was to know - but the bag contained important original documents related to a court case he is fighting against the government of WB, his plastic bag full of medicines, some cash (I think about 20k), his original voter's ID among other things like clothes etc.
From nowhere, an unregistered 'coolie' walks up and offers to help him by carrying the bag for him upto the platform.
Gladly my father, handed over the bag to him. Next thing he knows, the coolie has disappeared with his belongings.

Two days later we got a call from a traffic sergeant (police), saying 'someone' has discovered a file containing 'papers' - so please come and pick it up from a shop near howrah station. I went there, it was a bonafide shop, and the file in question had the papers related to the court case.

At around the same time, a railway gangman called up, and said a bag full of clothes and medicines was discovered by the railway shed at Howrah station. I met with him, and he handed over the bag. Some clothes and few medicines were missing, others were all there.

Luckily, for him, both the file and the bag contained Dad's business cards, so it was easy to contact us.

Another incident - this was in September 2000. My wife and I were driving West on I-90, in NY. In a brief rest-stop, my wife forgot her clutch purse in the rest-room. When we backtracked , to the rest-room and looked, it was not to be found. The purse contained her credit cards, and a debit card. Worst of all, it also contained the PIN of the debit card!
Luckily I was carrying my mobile phone and my office laptop. I dialled up the internet gateway of my office, and quickly transferred all funds from her savings account to mine, and then called up all the credit card companies and cancelled the card.
3 months later, we got a package in the mail, at our residence in PA. It contained the clutch purse, all the cards, but did not have the 400$ that was in the purse at the time it was lost.


What I am trying to say is, that documents are probably not much use to the typical thief, and sometimes, one gets those back.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

This is the precise reason why my father always keeps everything in the boot of the car. Atleast its not visible from outside. What happened with you is really unfortunate but very common on our roads. How did the thieves manage to take out cash from your ATM without the password?

Exactly, I do this and our corporate security advise use to lock everything in the boot (that is assuming it is covered and no one can see it). Another thing is to put your case in the boot immediately before you set off and not when you park where someoone can spot you putting it in the boot.

Again your dad might have been working in the car hence the briefcase needed to be inside.

Only thing one can say is to be totally vigilant and watch out for distractions

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

This is the precise reason why my father always keeps everything in the boot of the car. Atleast its not visible from outside.

Originally Posted by ajmat

Exactly, I do this and our corporate security advise use to lock everything in the boot (that is assuming it is covered and no one can see it).

+1

In a sedan, boot is the best place to store the valuables. If its a hatch, again, better to get a parcel tray made and store the items in the boot.

One of my relatives also had a similar incident near Janakpuri District center. In her case, the thieves had shattered the rear windscreen to get to the bags! Her car didn't have a parcel tray.

[saket77]

I don't know how helpful will that be, but it is clear that the guys who burgled knew that your dad was carrying cash, or carries cash regularly in his briefcase. You can jot down the list of people who can possibly know about this and it may prove to be helpful.
BTW, how did they managed to take out cash from the ATM without the PIN?

[bluevolt]

They were able to withdraw cash from the credit card and i guess either my dad has stored pin in the wallet itself or credit card doesn't require pin to withdraw cash as at shopping malls/petrol pumps I was never asked for the pin - just swipe and sign. Debit card requires pin to be manually entered at petrol pumps & malls.

Though the Debit card account is safe - no transaction from there. There were cheque books also in the brief case - I hope those are not of much use to them without the signature.

We have got to know the location from the bank of the two ATMs from where they retrieved cash - one from mukundpur which is 2-3 kms from the theft site and other ATM in wazirabad. I will be going to collect my FIR from police station in couple of hours. Let me see what they have to say.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

The incident happened with us this evening while my dad was returning to home from office in our Honda City. ...

The RHS rear passenger window was thrashed by a brick and the briefcase was stolen. Briefcase contained 70-80 thousand cash along with several important documents...

Sorry to hear about the incident. But there are quite a few learnings for future.

1. Never keep documents / case where people can see it. Rather, stack it in the boot or keep it on the floor in front of the navigator seat.

2. You can forget the documents - if the thieves bother, they might courier you those, but chances are slim.

3. I am NOT sure of the procedures for acquiring new docs, but you could check with the concerned departments.

4. NEVER keep the PIN in the wallet / mobile phones. If you need it for sure, please save / write it in a format which can NOT be understood by a second person.

5. The ATMs most probably would have caught the culprits in action and might give you / police some leads - ALL THE BEST!

6. As for them knowing the house address - if you can afford, hire a young private security guard for the next couple of months please.

Edit:: About your dad stopping for puncture. You need to make sure you stop / park your car ONLY at a place where people movement is good. No one would dare a breakage at such a place. You also said your dad walked for 50 meters to reach the puncture wala - he might as well drove there at a very slow pace rather than leaving the vehicle unattended.

I know he may NOT have thought of the worst, but these shall works as leads for future.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

The puncture guy told be that since there is a small pierce cut in the side wall, this tyre has to be converted to tube type tyre for regular use - is that fine?

This approach is ok only for emergencies or if you are going to use the car for short trips nearby. If its a daily driver then a strict no no!

Originally Posted by bluevolt

I have lost the original RC of my car, dad's original driving license, insurance policy and other documents. Though I have insurance policy on mail and photocopy of my dad's old driving license which was valid upto october 2013.

First start off with the insurance company, I think with an FIR you can easily get the duplicate insurance papers. In case you have insurance from one of the 4 semi-govt companies that we have, please PM me, may be I can help.

License also doesn't need much except for an application and visit to the DL issuing authority once. I have a duplicate DL myself and the only difference would be that it'd have a 'D' printed on the top right side.

The procedure for a duplicate RC is below

What is the procedure for issue of duplicate registration certificate?

Any registered owner can apply for a duplicate registration certificate in case the original one is either lost or mutilated after submitting following documents :

Application on form 26 (in duplicate and with the endorsement from the financier of Hypothecated).
Original copy of the F.I.R/N.C.R.
Attested copy of valid insurance policy.
Attested copy of pollution under control certificate.
Attested copy of address proof.
Prescribed fee.
Challan clearance from traffic police & Enforcement wing Transport Department.
Tax clearence from Accounts Department in commercial vehicles.

Source - http://delhigovt.nic.in/newdelhi/dep...sport/tr10.asp

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Is there any hope of getting the documents back?

How? I don't think those lowlifes would be interested in helping you in any way. Robbing you of a lakh and then taking pity on you to return the documents, that'd be a first to me if at all it happens.

Originally Posted by bluevolt

How to reapply for Duplicate RC? I even don't have photocopy of RC/driving license at home, all were in the briefcase.

Answered above.

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Where to approach? My local RTO or the place from where car was registered (DL-4C -> janakpuri). Can ring road Honda - from where i purchased my car be of any help with respect to issuance of duplicate RC?

With the procedure shared above, I don't think the dealer can help except he can help facilitate this if he's got any contacts.

Originally Posted by bluevolt

How police is going to help me?

This is exactly what Mr. AK is fighting for. There's no accountability on their part and unless you know some higher-ups, I don't think they'd do much. I mean its not the first theft of its kind in their area.

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Also what will be the cost of the RHS rear passenger window glass? Does breaking of glass caused any damage to the power window mechanism?

Glass breaking wouldn't damage the Power Window mechanism unless excessive force caused something to break or bend in the door also. Your friendly neighbourhood garage can check for damage in 5 mins.

Originally Posted by bluevolt

My one more concern is that the documents have our photos and home/office addresses and those thieves have now our addresses also!

A lot of folks have your address, address isn't really a problem. In my opinion these crooks wouldn't even want to come nearby your residence. Unless of course, some of the documents reveal that you guys carry a lot of cash in transit or stock unrealistic money at home and they might want to get lucky a second time as well. May be change the route that you take for a while or stop keeping money in the car for a few weeks or whatever time you'd be comfortable with.

However, I highly doubt they hitting you again because there are umpteen other fellows who'd fall for their tried and tested methods.

[PGNarain]

This is really sad and disturbing. I agree with most of the views here that all your documents can be re-issued but you will have to put up with running around for all the documents to be re-issued. I would also suggest that you take help of agents in this case as most of them have had experience in re-issue of documents in case of thefts and are well aware of all the formalities.

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Is there any hope of getting the documents back? I am not much concerned about the cash as its sure that will not be coming back.
..... How police is going to help me?

It is a bit of a co-incidence but just last week one of my friends suffered something very similar. He had left his laptop bag in the rear seat of his Figo and went to the gym. When he came back the rear glass was smashed and the bag was gone. He lost his laptop, wallet, passport, hard drive (which had 7+ years worth of family and friend pics), RC, Driving License, Credit Cards, Debit Cards and some other assorted items.

Since then he has been running pillar to post at the Police Stations to recover the above items but to no avail. We even tried our luck at a few known markets which are known to sell stolen items, since he was very disturbed at having lost his photos - which are irreplaceable.

Sorry to say this but most of your docs would have by now been destroyed or thrown away, nothing short of a miracle can restore them to you!
Therefore, my advice to you is to forget trying to chase the Police - instead divert your energies in getting your documents re-issued.

Originally Posted by bluevolt

By the time he could call the bank and lock the credit/debit cards, Just after 5-10 minutes, the thieves also withdrawn cash - Rs. 7500 (the max limit of dad's credit card limit for the day) in two three instalments from two ATMs (Rs 5000 from one ATM near mukarba chowk and Rs 2500 from Wazirpur ATM).

If the thieves have indeed used an ATM, you can obtain footage of the respective ATMs and try to ascertain identity. However, this too is in the ambit of the Police as no bank will give you the in ATM footage. I am sorry to sound pessimistic but if this too works out, by the time any headway is made all your docs will have gone or been destroyed!

Best of Luck!!

[libranof1987]

Sorry to hear about this BV!

It is downright disgusting, but again, reality.

Here are a couple of things:

1) The cash was withdrawn from the "stolen" credit card. Once you have the FIR, contact the credit card issuing bank and inform them of the theft. Most credit cards have a Zero Liability Clause so there's a good chance you will be protected.

** Credit cards do have PINs that you need to enter to withdraw cash.

2) For all the stolen documents: DL and RC, I would suggest that you get a membership with the AAI. They would get everything done for you. Of course, this is Delhi and there are tons of agents who get things done so you could do that.

Originally Posted by drmohitg

This is the precise reason why my father always keeps everything in the boot of the car. Atleast its not visible from outside.

I am not so sure about this; every damn place in the country wants to check your boot while entering a parking lot! Once the boot lid covers your IVRM, you are a sitting duck!