March 03, 2007	Saturday	Safar 13, 1428

KARACHI, March 2: More than four thousand cellphones and over nine hundred vehicles were taken away in the city during the past one month.

A total of 986 vehicles — 429 cars and 557 motorcycles — and 4,375 cellular phones were either snatched at gunpoint or stolen in 28 days. While the Anti-car Lifting Cell of the Capital City Police seized 347 stolen vehicles — 183 automobiles and 164 motorcycles, incidents of car snatching and theft increased slightly in February as 913 vehicles — 358 automobiles and 555 motorbikes — had been taken away in January.

However, ACLC officials said the occurrence of carjacking showed a declining trend in the first two months of this year as compared with the last year’s average. They said over 1,100 vehicles per month were snatched and stolen in 2006 while the number of lifted vehicles came down to 935 per month this year.

The figures collated by Dawn from the police and the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee showed that 106 cars were snatched at gunpoint and 324 others were stolen in February.

Gulshan-i-Iqbal topped with 24 cars hijacked and 80 stolen in different parts of the town.

Eleven cars were snatched at gunpoint in North Nazimabad, nine in Jamshed Town, eight in Gulberg, seven in Shah Faisal, six in Clifton Town, five each in Baldia, Bin Qasim, Gadap and Korangi, four each in Orangi and Saddar, three in New Karachi, two each in Landhi, Liaquatabad, Lyari and Site, and one each was hijacked in Keamari and Malir.

Fifty three cars were stolen in Clifton, 45 in Jamshed Town, 40 in Saddar, 34 in North Nazimabad, 19 each in Shah Faisal and Gulberg, 15 in Liaquatabad, five in New Karachi, three in Site, two each in Korangi and Malir, and one each in Baldia, Bin Qasim, Landhi and Orangi.

Top 10 police stations, where maximum cars were lifted, are Ferozabad PS (32 cars), Aziz Bhatti (25), Preedy (21), Gulshan-i-Iqbal (18), Sharea Faisal (17) Darakhshan and Taimuriya (14 each), and Shahrah-i-Noorjahan and Clifton (12 each).

Besides, robbers snatched 29 motorcycles in Jamshed Town, 27 in New Karachi, 18 in Liaquatabad, 16 each in Gulshan-i-Iqbal and North Nazimabad, 15 each in Korangi and Saddar, 13 in Gadap, 11 in Bin Qasim, 10 in Malir, nine each in Landhi, Orangi and Shah Faisal, eight in Gulberg, seven in Lyari, six in Clifton and four motorbikes in Site.

Seventy five motorcycles were theft in Saddar, 33 in Jamshed Town, 27 in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, 25 in Liaquatabad, 20 each in New Karachi and North Nazimabad, 17 in Shah Faisal, 16 in Gulberg, 15 in Landhi, 13 in Lyari, nine each in Korangi and Malir, seven each in Gadap and Site, six in Orangi, five in Keamari, four in Bin Qasim and one motorcycle in Baldia.

Of 4375 cellular phones, 1,768 were snatched at gunpoint and 2,607 others were stolen during the month. In January, the figures of snatched and stolen cellphones were 1,760 and 2,443 respectively.

In cellphone thefts too, Gulshan-i-Iqbal topped all the towns with 243 sets snatched at gunpoint and 392 stolen. Two hundred and nineteen cellphones were snatched and 372 were stolen in Saddar Town, 152 and 185 in Jamshed Town, 140 and 133 in North Nazimabad, 123 and 118 in Liaquatabad, 114 and 96 in Gulberg, 112 and 123 in New Karachi, 92 and 127 in Shah Faisal, 83 and 214 in Clifton, 82 and 73 in Lyari, 74 and 140 in Korangi, 71 and 122 in Site, 64 and 74 in malir, 45 and 150 in Landhi, 44 and 80 in Gadap, 33 and 88 in Keamari, 33 and 70 in Orangi, 23 and 54 in Baldia and 20 were snatched and 58 were stolen in Bin Qasim Town respectively.