Thieves are targeting spare tyres mounted on SUVs in Hyderabad’s Old City, and Mahindra Thar vehicles are among the ones particularly hit. A series of thefts has been reported in Chandrayangutta, Akbar Bagh, Malakpet and Chaderghat, and police have registered cases and launched investigations.
The thefts are being captured on closed-circuit television cameras, and that footage is now the central piece of the investigation. In one incident in Chandrayangutta, CCTV reportedly shows a suspect identified as Subhan arriving on a two-wheeler. He swiftly removes the spare tyre mounted at the rear of a parked vehicle and escapes.
The method is simple, and that is what makes it alarming. The suspect walks up to a parked SUV, removes the spare tyre and makes a quick getaway on the two-wheeler. No window is smashed and no door is forced. The vehicle owner may not even notice until the spare is gone.
Why the rear spare is so easy to take
Owners generally take precautions to protect their vehicles and the valuables left inside them. The latest incidents show that the exterior of the car is now a weak point too. The spare tyre sits outside the vehicle, bolted to the rear, and it can be removed without breaking into the vehicle at all.
The rear-mounted spare tyres on SUVs appear to have become an easy target, as they can be removed without breaking into the vehicle.
That detail changes how owners should think about security. Many people focus on locks, alarms and what sits on the back seat. A spare tyre hanging off the rear door rarely enters that calculation, and the reports suggest thieves have noticed the gap.
Similar incidents have been reported in Akbar Bagh and other areas under the Malakpet and Chaderghat police station limits. Taken together, the cases point to a pattern rather than a single isolated theft, although police are still examining footage to determine whether the incidents are connected.
Where owners are most exposed
The thefts have raised concern most sharply among owners who park their SUVs on roads or in residential areas without dedicated parking. In the Old City, finding a secure place to park is often a challenge in itself. Vehicles left on the street for hours or overnight have no gate, no guard and often no camera covering them.
That makes the victims hard to protect and the suspects hard to catch. A two-wheeler can be parked and left within seconds, and a theft takes less time than most owners spend locking a door. The challenge for police is that the crime is quick, small and easy to repeat across several neighbourhoods.
The Thar is a vehicle that draws attention, and the reports single it out. That does not mean other SUVs are safe. The modus operandi described in the reports applies to any SUV with a rear-mounted spare, which covers a broad group of owners.
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For Hyderabad, this is more than a parking complaint. The city’s Old City neighbourhoods are dense, and many residents depend on street parking. When thieves can strip a valuable part from a parked car in broad daylight and disappear on a two-wheeler, every owner in those lanes becomes a potential victim.
The cases also test how well local police can respond to a crime that leaves little trace beyond a video clip. Officers are working through CCTV footage from the affected localities to identify those involved. Their success will depend on whether the footage gives them a clear face, a registration number or a repeated route they can follow across the four police areas.
The incidents have also put a spotlight on the wider security situation for car owners in the Old City. Vehicle owners in the area have been forced to think about protection in a way that goes beyond locks and steering wheel clamps. The spare tyre, once considered safe as part of the car’s fixed fittings, is now on the list of items to watch.
What comes next
Police have registered cases under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and investigators are examining footage from the affected localities. The next step will be confirming whether the suspect seen in Chandrayangutta is connected to the other incidents in Akbar Bagh, Malakpet and Chaderghat.
For now, the reports make one thing clear. A car parked on a Hyderabad street is no longer secure simply because its doors are locked. The thieves are working from the outside in, and the owners who are paying the price are the ones who least expected it.
TL;DR
- Spare tyres are being stolen from SUVs parked in Hyderabad’s Old City, with Mahindra Thar owners particularly affected.
- Thefts have been reported in Chandrayangutta, Akbar Bagh, Malakpet and Chaderghat, all captured on CCTV.
- CCTV footage reportedly shows a suspect identified as Subhan removing a rear-mounted spare tyre from a parked vehicle on a two-wheeler.
- The thieves can remove rear spare tyres without breaking into the vehicle, making the crime quick and hard to notice.
- Police have registered cases under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and are examining CCTV footage to identify suspects.
- Owners who park on roads or in residential areas without dedicated parking are the most exposed.
