Bur Dubai residents report car vandalism – Emirates 24, 7
Bur Dubai residents report car vandalism
A Dubai Police source said that if people find their vehicle bruised, contact the emergency number and lodge a complaint with authorities for insurance purposes. (Bindu Rai)
Residents of Bur Dubai have reported car vandalism cases across some community parking lots, with incidents that include harm to the paintwork, scrapes and dents and a few cases of deflated tyres.
Dubai Police has reiterated that members of the public must step forward and flag such cases with authorities; however, many a times, such incidents go unreported.
«My wifey and I both drive separate cars, and due to the limited parking spaces in our building, one of us is compelled to park in the community paid public lot,» Al Mankhool resident Nikhil Gehi told Emirates 24|7.
«And almost, like clockwork, we find a fresh scrape keyed into our vehicle every few weeks. Once it was a scrape that covered an entire side of my car; the other time it was keyed into the car`s bonnet.»
Gehi said after having those scrapes stationary a few times, he`s now given up. «I just don`t have the time nor the patience to keep driving to the workshop. At least if my car is already keyed in, it would most likely dissuade whoever they are to stop from returning.”
This reporter has also had her car bruised in a similar incident in the same neighbourhood, a matter that is presently registered with Dubai Police.
A Dubai Police source said that if people find their vehicle bruised, contact the emergency number and lodge a complaint with authorities for insurance purposes. The report fee is Dh120.
Another option is to open a case file for further court procedures. This would involve investigation by Dubai Police, while the victim waits until the culprit(s) are caught.
Following this, the police will open a criminal case with the court, while the plaintiff files a civil case with the aid of a lawyer, handing over the police report and the loss report on damages.
If the judge issues a guilty verdict, it would bode positively on the civil case decision, and if the guilt isn’t proven in the criminal case, the civil case is then ruled in the defendant’s favour.
The police source further added that if residents notice any suspicious activity in their neighbourhood, they must call the Al Ameen service.
Imran Shroff, another resident of the community, said his vehicle has suffered similar ‘malicious` harm, adding: «Police, however, have enhanced late night patrolling the area, so we’ve had respite of late.
Resident Sagar Pathak says it’s usually weekends that witness a spike in such cases.
The 28-year-old says, while he’s never actually caught someone in the act, the building security guards in the neighborhood have narrated incidents of youthfull adults who make mischief in the residential community.
While most privately wielded car parks forbid children from playing on the ground, no such hindrance exists in the public parking catches sight of.
Resident Carol Mathews says: “Children will be children, so it’s not uncommon to find dents on your vehicle when the cricket ball comes flying into your car, or bicycles squeezing through the space inbetween parked cars and leave behind a trail of scrapes.”
Mathews says parents and minders should be held responsible in such cases, telling it is ‘imperative’ that children are trained to own up to such deeds, which can have consequences.
