Thieves target south Delhi colony, steal 90 car batteries in one night

NEW DELHI: After receiving a distress call in the morning from the hospital, Dr Tanveer quickly left his house a rush and tried starting his new Maruti Alto but without any success. After multiple failed attempts, Tanveer opened the car’s bonnet to find that the battery is missing.
He called in his neighbours to enquire and to their utter shock, the batteries of their cars were also missing.
By 7am, almost all the residents of Vasant Apartments in south Delhi's Vasant Vihar were out, checking their vehicles. A gang of thieves had struck the colony and stole batteries from 90 cars.

“I realised that something was amiss when my new car wouldn’t start. On opening the bonnet, the battery was missing. I had to call in my hospital and tell them that I would get late,” Tanveer said.
Senior police officers said that a case is being registered based on the complaint of the residents. A preliminary probe revealed that the vehicles that were targeted were parked on the road going to the society. A police post, used as a restroom by patrolling cops, is also situated where the incident happened but it is yet to be ascertained if there were any cops present at the time of the incident.
The president of the society’s resident welfare association, M David, said that they have a barrier inside the complex but the theft took place on the road going to Basant village. “Earlier we had two security guards but we had to let them go as some of the residents were not willing to pay for their salaries. Two days ago, we got to know that vehicles have been targeted in a similar manner in Vasant Enclave,” David said.
Incidentally, the thieves only targeted Maruti-make models and took just the batteries. CCTV footage from the road, accessed by TOI, showed the men coming in a white car at 4:03am. After parking the car at the gate of the society, two men are seen entering the complex.
While one of them targets a parked Maruti WagonR, his associate opens the bonnet of a white Maruti Celario car by tampering with the wire that opens the bonnet. In less than 30 seconds, they take out the car batteries and escape.
Investigating units are now scanning the CCTV footage to identify the suspects. It is believed that the thieves were well averse with the society and had may have conducted a recce. Cops are probing with areas auto-mechanics for more information.