Car owners beware! Wheel thieves on the prowl

Thefts of expensive alloy wheels reported from Rajarajeshwarinagar; With tyres stolen, vehicles rest on stones

Mysore/Mysuru: With most modern cars these days being offered with light-weight alloy wheels to complement and elevate the looks of the cars, these expensive and attractive alloy wheels and also branded tyres that hold them are the latest targets for thieves in the city.

Cases of alloy wheel and tyre thefts have seen a steep rise recently with multiple cases being reported especially where the cars are parked outside homes and in open spaces. In fact, most of the vehicles owned by people here are parked outside homes as there is no space inside the house compound. These vehicles become sitting ducks for thieves.

The latest two incidents have been reported from Rajarajeshwarinagar on Sunday night during heavy rains. Thieves have stolen eight wheels of a Toyota Glanza and a Maruti Baleno, both five-seater hatchback cars which were parked by the side of the road.

While the Toyota Glanza belongs to N. Nagesh, a resident of No. 1160, near Bhavani Bhandar, the Maruti Baleno is owned by S.N. Nagesh, the first victim’s neighbour. As the houses lacked space, both had parked their vehicles on the roadside in front of their houses.

The theft came to light on Monday morning when both the car owners saw all the wheels  of their cars stolen. The miscreants, after placing stones under the chassis of the two cars, have removed all the eight wheels. The car owners have lodged complaints with Saraswathipuram Police.

Meanwhile, Saraswathipuram Police have collected the footage of the CCTV camera installed at the nearby Bhavani Bhandar, which shows a car passing by at about 1.30 am. The Police, expressing doubts that the car in the CCTV footage may be involved in the crime, have taken up the investigation.

It may be recalled that on Sept. 10, 2020, miscreants had stolen the wheels of two goods vehicles that were parked outside a house close to Hebbal Police Station.

Those parking their cars outside their houses should install CCTV cameras pointed at the direction of their parked car or park vehicles close to the house and install wheel sensors which sets off the alarm buzzing in case anyone tries to remove them.