KARACHI, Sept 1: The Anti-Car Lifting Cell has succeeded in reducing carjacking incidents in the metropolis over the past two months, but it has failed to overcome motorcycle lifting incidents.

At a press briefing held at the ACLC office here on Sunday, the ACLC Chief, SSP Abdur Razzak Cheema said that the transportation of motorcycles was easier than that of cars, as the parts of motorbikes were transported to other cities in cartons of soap or other commodities. Another problem in the recovery of stolen/ snatched motorcycles was that in most cases, the purchaser did not know that he had bought a stolen or snatched motorbike, and when the two-wheeler was recovered by the police, the owner pleaded for its return, as he had purchased it from his savings and could not buy another one.

This was a major hitch in initiating the recovery drive for motorcycles, he said, adding that the recovery drive of cars was carried out, and a number of stolen/hijacked cars were recovered. In the cases of cars, the owners often requested the police to get their money back, which was not the duty of the police and he said that “we have to excuse them as we have no choice other than to seize the stolen or hijacked vehicle,” he added.

He asked people not to fall prey to attractive low prices and not to buy vehicles from Juma Bazaars, but to purchase vehicles only from credible showrooms or acquaintances. He further asked people to check the original registration book, official registration number plate, vehicle’s customs clearance papers, and have the vehicle physically checked by the motor registration authority officer before payment, and preferably pay by payee’s account cheque.

He said people often ignored some key elements before buying the vehicle such as keeping the ID card copy of the seller, verified residential address and land line telephone number of the person from whom the vehicle was being purchased, and obtaining a new registration book on each transfer. He warned people of keeping the vehicles on ‘open letters.’

Cheema deplored the fact that the concept of using double locks in vehicles was not developing among citizens. He stressed the need for using additional locks in cars and motorcycles or using electronic devices. He said 92 per cent of car owners did not use additional locks, while 70 per cent of motorcycle owners did not bother to have an additional lock on their vehicles. It was observed that additional locks in vehicles could help control the theft incidents of vehicles.

Referring to statistics, he said 21 vehicles a day on average were taken away in August, as compared to 24 vehicles a day on average in the month of July.

The data shows that bandits hijacked 77 cars and stole 132 in August, while they hijacked 155 motorbikes and stole 300 others. In July, 127 cars were hijacked and 130 were stolen, whereas 226 motorbikes were hijacked and 261 stolen.

He said the recovery statistics showed that the stolen vehicles were transported to various parts of the country.