Police go after stolen vehicles but leave thieves alone

BUTWAl, Sept 13: Three weeks ago, a team from Regional Traffic Police Office, Butwal, seized a Bolero jeep (Ba 6 Cha 9163) from a Nepalgunj road after confirming that it was a stolen vehicle.



The police team, however, did not bother to arrest or interrogate the owner of the seized vehicle. A week later, the owner of the seized vehicle himself went to the police office, and shared information about the person who sold the stolen vehicle to him. [break]



Two weeks on, police have not yet launched a manhunt for the person who sold the stolen vehicle. Instead of searching for that person, police are preparing to send the seized jeep to the customs office, presenting it as an unclaimed vehicle.



A year ago, police seized a Mahindra pick-up van (Lu 1 Cha 3223) from a garage at Mainabagar only after they were informed that someone was removing the engine from the stolen vehicle to fit it into another vehicle.



In that case too, police did not display their enthusiasm for arresting the person behind stealing the vehicle and the engine. Police sent the seized vehicle to the customs office. Later, it was auctioned for Rs 600,000.



Police frequently seize stolen vehicles. However, police never properly investigate for the simple reason that they receive commissions if they put up the seized vehicle for auction.



This has helped those who are actively involved in stealing vehicles to always get off the hook. Consequently, very few people have been arrested on the charge of stealing vehicles so far.



As per the Customs Act 1962, police can claim 15 percent of the royalty that the customs office earns by auctioning a seized vehicle. Police are entitled to 30 percent of the royalty if they send the seized vehicle to the customs office after arresting the thief.



However, the act does not seem to have motivated police to arrest the thief. “It is easy to put up the seized vehicle for auction by presenting it as an unclaimed vehicle. But the process is very lengthy and time-consuming if we look for the thief,” says a police officer requesting anonymity.



DSP Pritam Bhattarai, chief of regional Traffic Police Office, Butwal, however, denied having ever put up stolen vehicles for auction as abandoned vehicles. When asked how can a seized vehicle be an abandoned, DSP Bhattarai refused to comment.

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