[Geo_Ipe]

Originally Posted by Sisu

In the absence of these marks, there is no way of proving that the vehicle recovered is indeed the same as his stolen car.

Your BIL's won't be the only car whose engine/VIN numbers have been scratched off, right? What is the local police saying about this? In other words, what proof are they expecting from you to prove that the car is yours?

Also, please find out from Toyota on what they plan to do regarding re etching the VIN & engine numbers. If they do not have a concrete plan regarding that, it will become virtually impossible for you to resell the vehicle or take it for RTO fitness when the current one runs out.

[low_rider]

My concern here is that there seems to be a total lack of coordination between police of two different states/UTs, that too one of the most modern ones. The victim had to himself contact Chandigarh police after the news article and is following up on his own.

Shouldn't the seizure of cars be reported by CHandigarh police to neighbouring police for identifying the stolen vehicles?

Also, we are supposedly an "IT superpower", but the police doesn't / can't ask the dealers to identify the stolen cars via VIN scanners.

[veedub89]

Originally Posted by low_rider

My concern here is that there seems to be a total lack of coordination between police of two different states/UTs, that too one of the most modern ones. The victim had to himself contact Chandigarh police after the news article and is following up on his own.

Shouldn't the seizure of cars be reported by CHandigarh police to neighbouring police for identifying the stolen vehicles?

Also, we are supposedly an "IT superpower", but the police doesn't / can't ask the dealers to identify the stolen cars via VIN scanners.

Since the VIN and engine numbers are all scratched out how will the Chandigarh police approach the police from any other state and tell them that the car stolen in the other state is now in Chandigarh? They themselves don't know what cars they have recovered.

The same issues that hinder the re-possession of the vehicle by the owner prevent the police departments to co-ordinate with each other effectively.

The FIR of the stolen car will have its VIN, engine and registration numbers but these are all gone now. So the police can't associate any two cars.

I am sure the police department wouldn't want to hold on to these cars so a court can handle the process of sending these cars back to the owners after due diligence.

[1.2TSI7DSG]

Check if Engine numbers are available/visible. They are usually punched on the block.
You can verify that with the Registration /insurance records

[anumod]

There are serial numbers for all the spares. You should be able to get this from Toyota ( I believe) and you can match some of them to prove the identity. I don't think they might have tampered all the serial numbers ..

[Sanjeev911]

Plug in the Service scan tool from Toyota & you would get the Engine Details & possibly the vehicle VIN. Hopefully the guys haven't changed this or tampered with this also. Best of luck to your brother in law.

All modern day engines have their ECUs coded with the serial numbers & for security purpose, also locked based on the anti-tampering regulation that is called for in the engine certification procedure.

[MOUNTAINMAN]

Besides the car documents and the FIR, your BIL must be in possession of the car keys, would that not be sufficient to point-the-car and open/starting the car to prove the car belongs to him.

How else is the police expecting public to prove their ownership, shouldn't police be giving a procedure to reclaim it.

[low_rider]

Originally Posted by veedub89

Since the VIN and engine numbers are all scratched out how will the Chandigarh police approach the police from any other state and tell them that the car stolen in the other state is now in Chandigarh? They themselves don't know what cars they have recovered.

It is not about Identifying first and informing upon successful identification. It is a common knowledge that identification marks are erased/tampered on the stolen vehicles.

It is about intelligence sharing "Hey, We have busted a vehicle theft gang and retrieved stolen property. Would you be interested in checking if any of it relates to your cases?". It would have been a broadcast message to all the state police and those states where Fortuner were stolen should have got interested in this. To use american lingo, an APB (All-Points-Bulletin).

For this exact purpose, the central government has spent Rs 2000 crores in creating such a system by the name CCTNS. You may google more on it. Sad to see it lying unused.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Sisu

Thank you everyone for your invaluable inputs!
.

ECU readout is good enough for identification unless they have replaced the ECU, which is very unlikely. Another option involves Toyota whereby they can identify a particular part to the production line and to the said vehicle. Doable but long-drawn.

[NiInJa]

Based on my recent experience of Maruti Ertiga recall, the service advisor told me that each critical part has its own bar-code (QR code these days) and a unique identification number which is mapped to the VIN. Thats how they find if a particular car needs to be checked for a defective part.
I think Toyota can help in this case. Just like ECU as others mentioned, if they can scan any part (e.g. Starter motor, Gearbox etc) and see what details it gives, I am sure VIN will be displayed too.

[veedub89]

Originally Posted by low_rider

It is not about Identifying first and informing upon successful identification. It is a common knowledge that identification marks are erased/tampered on the stolen vehicles.

It is about intelligence sharing "Hey, We have busted a vehicle theft gang and retrieved stolen property. Would you be interested in checking if any of it relates to your cases?". It would have been a broadcast message to all the state police and those states where Fortuner were stolen should have got interested in this. To use american lingo, an APB (All-Points-Bulletin).

For this exact purpose, the central government has spent Rs 2000 crores in creating such a system by the name CCTNS. You may google more on it. Sad to see it lying unused.

I wasn't aware of any such technological advancement by the government. But then again I am hardly surprised that it has had no effect on the ground.

Maybe in the future this tool could be used but the effectiveness of this tool will again rest on the pro-activeness of the police department and the overall availability of sufficient man-power to run after every such APB being issued from all over the country. It's a well-known fact that most police departments are over-worked and over-stressed.

[akash_v12]

Hi Sisu!
Booking up a basic OBD2 Tool may help in finding the VIN Number of thr car. Secondly, if you can get the car up on a ramp, the chassis number is usually etched on the metal itself. If that also has been removed, check for the Fastag number and match it with the number on your bank's app. The last option is to try and open the car with the duplicate key (if it is with your BIL).

[DaptChatterjee]

To OP, please allow me to ask this stupid question, was the car insured? If it was, did it cover theft (most policies do)? If the answers to both are yes, may be the best idea would be to approach them. Those people deal with Police regularly and would have contacts in both Delhi and Chandigarh. Let them do the hard work!

[ritz3645]

Long back Police in Mumbai will advise owners to etch vehicle registration number on all window glasses in a car. This post is to inform everyone of it. I did visit Police office once to get back a stolen then recovered kinectic honda of a friend. Was informed that only Courts give order after verifying ownership. Then it is released from Police.

[Stribog]

Originally Posted by GTO

1.
Your BIL is one lucky dude to have found his car . I know the feeling - had recovered my stolen Esteem in the 2000s.

Am picturing you wearing a cape and going all vigilante on the car thieves.