A young Indian migrant family is furious after their stolen car was found burnt out and dumped near Throsby in the Gungahlin district of Canberra on 19 June.
Car-theft victim Jaswant Singh told SBS Punjabi that he fears for his family's safety after thieves stole their car twice from secure parking before torching it.
“My family is so scared that they’re afraid to go to the carpark. These thieves are criminals who don’t fear Police. What if they come back," he said.
“They’re so fearless. They stole it twice. On 17 June, police told us that our car was involved in road-rage before we could tell them it’s stolen from our residence."
The family were subsequently able to get the vehicle back a few days later, only to have it stolen again the next day.
“On 19 June, Police informed [us] that our car was found burnt out and dumped near Throsby," Mr Singh said.
Mr Singh who works in the transport industry told SBS Punjabi that his car was just three months old and he still waiting for an insurance payout.
The stolen car was found burnt out and dumped at Throsby in Gungahlin, Canberra. Source: Supplied
“I am shocked to lose my workhorse... My livelihood depended on it,” he said.
“I keep all my truck-related logbooks and tools in this car. Even if insurance pays in full I’ll still lose at least $5,000 related to my accessories. It is not only the money, I’ve also lost important work-related paperwork.
“As a young migrant family, we’re working hard to make our lives work. But an incident like this one breaks our heart. I wonder why us.
“It’s been outrageous. I am extremely disappointed over the police response. They’ve asked me the same things over and over again. At least four times they’ve asked me if the car was insured and if there was CCTV installed at our car park.
“It clearly shows that either they don’t have the coordination or they’ve not looked at my initial written complaint. I think they didn’t do enough to prevent it again.
“I told police that [the] offenders have used my fuel card at a petrol station which is fully equipped with surveillance cameras.
“Police have CCTV footage from many places including that from our residence and they’re yet to identify the culprits. Why can’t they release their photos or CCTV footage like they do it for other thefts and burglaries?
“My request to have a copy of this CCTV footage has been turned down by our Strata. They say it can only be provided to police.
“Please let me have this video. At least I can post it on social media to reveal their identities. All I want is to make people aware of the apparent danger from these thugs.
“I would request everyone to be safe and vigilant. These thugs don’t fear police so you must have your own security checks. I plan to have a GPS tracker and security systems installed in my vehicle.
A police spokesperson told SBS Punjabi that ACT Police is investigating the circumstances around the theft and burning of the vehicle.
“The investigation is ongoing, so as such it would be inappropriate to comment further,” the statement said.
