From stealing the good old Maruti 800 to swanky SUVs —the taste of car thieves across the tricity seems to have undergone an upgrade. Till recently, the theft of luxury cars was almost negligible as compared to Maruti 800s, but now carjackers apparently prefer laying their hands on high-end vehicles.

Twenty-three Bolero jeeps have been stolen in Chandigarh since June. This is in complete contrast to the first four months of 2008 in which merely five jeeps were stolen. Of the stolen Boleros, only one has been recovered yet. Interestingly, over 80 per cent of the lifted Boleros bear number plates of Punjab and Haryana.

“Yes, the number of Bolero jeeps being stolen has increased significantly in the last few months. Not only Chandigarh, similar thefts have been reported from Mohali and Panchkula as well. We are working on a strategy to prevent such thefts,” said UT Senior Superintendent of Police S S Srivastava.

This year, of the total 672 vehicle thefts, 130 were Marutis. Four Scorpios, one Qualis, one Gypsy, one Mahindra Max were also stolen.