90 vehicles stolen from govt hospital in E Delhi in 3 months

A junior resident doctor recalled how his first scooter, bought just months ago, disappeared from near the OPD gate in August.

Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital (JPC), one of east Delhi’s busiest government hospitals, has earned a dubious new distinction – its parking area has turned into a den of vehicle thefts. Between July and September alone, at least 90 vehicles have been stolen from within the hospital premises, police and hospital officials told HT.

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Despite four entry gates, over 20 guards, and CCTV cameras, the hospital campus has become a hunting ground for vehicle thieves. Doctors, staff and patients alike say they now arrive with anxiety, fearing their vehicles might vanish before their shift or treatment ends.

“We can’t check every person leaving the premises. We only man the gates,” said one security guard. “This isn’t one person’s doing. They have cutters and ignition tools. It looks like an organised gang.”

The thefts, mostly of two-wheelers -- scooters, bikes and a few bicycles -- have upended daily life at the hospital. Victims include doctors, nurses, attendants, and patients’ families, many of whom have lost not just vehicles but also crucial medical and personal documents kept inside.

A junior resident doctor recalled how his first scooter, bought just months ago, disappeared from near the OPD gate in August. “When I returned after my duty hours, it was gone. The guards said they hadn’t seen anything. It’s shocking that this can happen inside a hospital,” he said.

Rajesh Kumar, a Ghaziabad resident, said his ordeal began when he admitted his injured son in July. “I parked my bike inside at night. By morning, it was gone. A box on the back seat had all my original and medical documents,” he said.

Md Shadab, a kidney patient from Seelampur, said he too lost his bike last month. “I went to a government hospital because I couldn’t afford private treatment. Instead, I lost my only means of transport. The police came, took my complaint, and disappeared,” he said.

Fear among staff

So frequent have the thefts become that many doctors and hospital staff have stopped bringing their vehicles altogether. “For the last three weeks, I’ve stopped riding my motorcycle to work. I take the metro and walk from the station,” said a senior resident doctor. “But it’s not sustainable, especially for emergency calls at night. Why should we be scared to park inside our own hospital?”

Hospital officials estimate that nearly 3,000 people visit the facility daily -- patients, attendants, and staff combined. With no clearly demarcated parking and only one gate now open to the public, the chaos of vehicles spilling near entrances makes surveillance nearly impossible. A guard room near the OPD now overflows with complaint slips and theft reports.

At the nearby Shastri Park police station, officials confirmed receiving multiple complaints and control room calls regarding motor vehicle thefts from the hospital. “We are investigating,” said an officer. However, DCP (northeast) Ashish Mishra declined to comment.

Within the hospital, administrators acknowledge the problem but say their hands are tied. “We have received at least 90 formal requests in the past two months from people asking to access CCTV footage near the gates,” said a senior hospital official who requested anonymity. “Most want to identify suspects or track down where their bikes were taken from. We share footage only after written permission from the medical superintendent.”

According to staff, only one gate remains open to patients and visitors, while the others are used for emergency vehicles or staff entry. The parking area lacks formal demarcation, with bikes and scooters parked in tight clusters near walls or footpaths. “At night, it becomes easy for anyone to walk in, pick a bike, and leave. Guards can’t cover every corner,” said another employee.

Despite repeated incidents, no dedicated parking management system or additional security deployment has been introduced so far. Many guards work 12-hour shifts and admit they are understaffed for the volume of vehicles entering the hospital each day.

Repeated attempts by HT to contact the hospital’s medical superintendent, Dr Sushma Jain, for a comment on the issue went unanswered.