Carjackers have become desperate in the recent days. They are lifting mainly cars, CNG run auto- rickshaws and motorbikes from parking lots, private or official garage and even sometimes from highways despite vigilance of law enforcement agencies.
Not only in Dhaka, the lifting of vehicles is also a common phenomenon in other metropolitan cities, including Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal and Sylhet.
In the latest incident, the criminals snatched away a CNG auto rickshaw from the busy road at Merul Badda in the city at 8 a.m. on Saturday. They boarded the babytaxi in guise of passengers and took away the vehicle making the driver unconscious. Later, the driver Anwarul Islam was rescued from Bijoy Nagar area.
There is widespread allegation that the incidents of carjacking are increasing as the captured culprits easily come out of jail on bail and engage in the same crime.
Every month at least 80 motorised vehicles like private cars, motorcycles and CNG-run auto-rickshaws are stolen from different city areas while the police can recover half of them only.
The Vehicle Theft Prevention and Recovery Cell of the Detective and Criminal Intelligence Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police [DMP] have identified 50 gangs of active car lifters mainly in Dhaka and its adjacent areas.
According to data provided by the police, about 898 different types of vehicles were stolen from the capital in 2013 whereas the DMP could recover only 468 vehicles. The destination of other stolen vehicles are yet not known.
A source close to the transport sector said the car lifters sell stolen cars at market price by using forged documents, which is obtained from the BRTA through illegal channel.
Usually, the car lifters after stealing a car bribe some selected BRTA officials to provide legitimate registration documents keeping similarity with the model of the stolen vehicles.
After getting registration, they replace the numbers of engine and chassis and also prepare a new number plate in line with newly obtained legitimate documents. They also repaint the stolen car to give it a new look. Later, the stolen vehicles are finally put on sale, sometimes rent them for carrying smuggled goods, the sources said.
When contacted, Rafiqul Haque Talukder, Director [Engineering], Bangladesh Road Transport Authority [BRTA] said, “The BRTA doesn’t practice such illegal thing. So far we think, the documents may be leaked from the National Board of Revenue [NBR] or police. Both institutions get copies of a registered vehicle.”
But the police officials said this practice sometimes create awkward situation as several cars are seen plying on the road with the same documents putting the real owner in trouble.
The Rapid Action Battalion [RAB] on Saturday arrested seven members of a carjacker gang, including ringleader Abdul Alim, from different areas of the capital and Sylhet district.
“We conducted separate drives and arrested seven carjackers and also seized seven stolen vehicles and a motorcycle,” Assistant Director of RAB Legal and Media Wing Captain Maksudul Alam said on Saturday.
RAB officials said that the arrestees were professional car thieves and they have records of previous arrest on same charge.
