Sources in the Salabatpura, Mahidharpura, Varachha, Katargam and Umra police stations -- where maximum number of vehicle thefts are registered -- say the the alarmingly high occurrences of vehicle thefts are because of the busy textile and other industrial areas, where vehicle lifting goes unnoticed.

While 1450 cases were registered under thefts in 1997, 1391 cases have already been registered in city police stations until October this year. Though top officials admit the existence of organised gangs involved in the crime and highlight steps taken to curb it, there has been little success in tracking the culprits.

Additional Commissioner of police C H Surendra Prasad, while admitting the rise in vehicle thefts, said for the first time the police was laying traps to nab vehicle thieves in areas, which recorded most thefts. While claiming that plain-clothed policemen had solved a number of cases in the past few days, he ruled out the involvement of organised inter-state gang, who are said to smuggle out vehicles on a regular basis.

However, a top police official said the department had come across cases where gangs smuggled out stolen vehicles to Saurashtra. ``Thought the issue is touchy and likely to attract a backlash from Saurashtrian dominated areas in the city, even the city police have admitted its regular occurrence,'' he said.

That a portion of these vehicle thefts are not actually thefts -- a contention made by the city police and the DCB -- as pranksters take vehicles for joy rides and abandon them when out of fuel, is also right to a certain extent. However, the fact that the number of vehicles recovered as compared to those stolen is very low strongly hints at the possibility of them being taken out of the state or their spare parts being sold in markets elsewhere; a fact confirmed by officials.

Interestingly, Hero Honda motorcycles, followed by Yamaha motorcycles and scooters form the largest chunk of stolen motorcycles. Police officials at the Salabatpura, Katargam, Umra, Mahidharpura and Varachha police, when asked, said their spare parts fetched a higher price than othertwo-wheelers.

The police, however, contend that it is practically impossible to prevent vehicle thefts. ``The best will can do is to keep a watch and that, too, has been stepped up,'' they point out.

Prasad says once a gang is nabbed, it helps solve a string of vehicle liftings as the gang is invariably involved in many offences of the same kind. The recovery of vehicles, however, remains low.

While instances of vehicle thefts from residential colonies is giving sleepless nights to the police and vehicle owners alike, steps taken to curb the crime, including laying traps and deploying plain-clothed policemen to curb the crime, has come as a glimmer of hope.