KARACHI, June 10: Over 10,599 vehicles, including 1,947 four-wheelers and 8,652 motorcycles, were either snatched or stolen in Karachi during the first five months of the current year, it emerged on Monday.

Despite heavy deployment of police and Rangers and a ban on pillion riding, the overall crime rate has not come down in the city and it appears that the criminals have been allowed to operate freely, as 8,463 people have been deprived of their cellphones during the five-month period.

According to statistics obtained from the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee, the city witnessed snatching of 424 four-wheelers in January, 357 in February, 420 in March, 348 in April and 398 vehicles in May. The number of motorcycles snatched or stolen was: 1,951 in January; 1,801 in February, 1,521 in March; 1,574 in April and 1,805 in May.

Similarly, 1,868 cellphones were snatched or stolen in January; 1,758 in February; 1,574 in March; 1,601 in April and 1,662 mobile phones were snatched/stolen in May.

According to the CPLC statistics, Saddar, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Jamshed and Liaquatabad towns are the high-risk areas for motorcycle snatchings, while. the high-risk areas for cars are Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Jamshed Town and Clifton.

Suzuki Alto is the most-stolen vehicle followed by the Daihatsu Cuore and Daihatsu Charade. White-coloured cars are stolen the most.

A police officer, however, conceded that the snatching rate in Gulshan Town was highest in the city, but it had actually decreased from the past. “We have increased patrolling and snap-checking in the area to curb the crime.”

Targeted killings in the city also increased in the month of May where according to data compiled by the police, 263 people, including political activists and educationists, have been murdered in the city. Sixty people each were killed in the first two weeks of May, while 53 and 90 people were killed in the last two weeks, respectively.—PPI