A new kind of theft has been noticed in
the city of Mangalore where the culprits are targeting badges,
monograms and logos of luxury vehicles. Basically logos of automobile
brands such as Audi, Skoda, Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen are being
stolen, supposedly by students.
The maximum numbers of theft are
reported from those areas where mass parking takes place. The targeted
areas are near State Bank of India (Hamilton) Circle, Town Hall, Jeppu,
TMA Pai Convention Hall and Light House Hill Road areas.
Ramesh S. who lost logo of his recently
bought Volkswagen car said, "It must have occurred a few days back. It
is the unlikeliest thing one will ever notice. There was no use of
complaining. I will have to shell out Rs 1,800 to buy one.'' He further
added that normally car owners do not observe such kind of thefts as
the most noticed parts are tyres for punctures or scratches on the
panes.
Charan Suvarna, Sales Manager,
Volkswagen, informed that they have got 20 inquiries for monogram
replacement. He said that the logos are quite expensive as they are
brought in directly from Germany and this problem will persist until and
unless these are not sourced locally.
A scrap dealer in Bunder said that two
students tried to sell a Volkswagen logo to him last week. A customer
who was present in the shop at that time got suspicious and started
asking them questions, but the duo ran away.
The costly monograms and logos are not
available in the local scrap market. The local scrap dealers claim that
the stolen logos are transported to Bangalore. Another scrap dealer
said that the police should look into this matter and try to find out
the mastermind behind these thefts, which seems like a big racket to
him.
According to a source, it is really
easy to flick a logo as they are either held in with clips or fixed
with special adhesive. He said that "With a screw driver and correct
pressure one can remove it without making any damage to the logo.''
Vinay Goankar, Police Inspector, Mangalore North, does not deny the rise
in logo theft. He said the logo theft is rising day by day, but no one
has registered any complaint about it until now. He also agrees on the
student’s involvement behind these thefts. Sources reveal that
numerous complaints have been withdrawn after parents of accused
students begged not to ruin the future of their children.
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