Beware! Bolero thieves on the prowl in Bhubaneswar
BHUBANESWAR: If you are a Bolero SUV owner, be on your guard. Six such vehicles have been stolen from the Capital City in last one month, posing a big headache for the police. It has not been able to crack any of the theft so far. Kailash Chandra Nanda, a resident of Oscar City in Laxmisagar, lodged a complaint on March 3 for the theft of his Bolero from outside his house. Nursingha Narayan Jena of Saheed Nagar too lodged a police complaint regarding theft of his SUV on March 27.
Similarly, Laxmipriya Mallick of GGP Colony lodged a complaint with Laxmisagar police alleging theft of her Bolero while her vehicle was parked near Chaturbhuja Cottage here and a case was registered on April 2. Nayapalli police had also registered two cases in connection with the thefts of two Bolero vehicles earlier. The SUV of Debiprasad Behera of Rental Colony and a resident of IRC Village Rachendra Mohapatra’s similar model vehicle were stolen earlier this month. People who are mostly parking their vehicles on the roadside are being targeted by the car-lifters. Efforts are on to nab the accused involved in the thefts,” said police. “Special Squad and other police officers have been entrusted to investigate the car lifting racket,” Bhubaneswar DCP Umashankar Dash told TNIE.
Police said they are examining the stolen Boleros models to establish a pattern. They are yet to confirm whether any inter-state gang or miscreants from Odisha are behind the thefts. They have also not ruled out the possibility of anti-socials coming from neighbouring states and committing such crimes.“Of the thefts reported in the last one month, the modus operandi in three of them appears to be similar. Initial investigation suggests that the miscreants are targeting Bolero vehicles manufactured between 2010 and 2017 as they are easier to open with duplicate keys,” said a police officer.
Meanwhile, police are facing difficulties in investigation as most of the CCTV cameras installed at the exit points of the city by Bhubaneswar Smart City Ltd are yet to be operational. However, they are examining the CCTV footage at the toll gates to verify the routes the thieves used to flee. CCTV footage of Manguli, Pipili and Malipada toll gates have already been examined, but no clue has been found. Police said of 36 stolen vehicles in 2020, 18 were recovered.
Recent cases
Mar 3: Bolero of Kailash Chandra Nanda, a resident of Oscar City in Laxmisagar
Mar 27: Theft of Nursingha Narayan Jena’s SUV from Saheed Nagar
April 2: Laxmipriya Mallick of GGP Colony lodged a similar complaint with Laxmisagar
April 2: Nayapalli police registered two cases in connection with the thefts of two Bolero vehicles