Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police Thursday claimed to have made a major breakthrough in bike-lifting cases in the City with the arrest of four members of a notorious gang.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Jagmohan Meena said Dipuna Mallick alias Chuna, 24, Bijaya Kumar Khatei alias Kundura, 30, Taslim Khan alias Tuku, 41, and Deepak Kumar Das alias Raja, 25, were involved in about 40 cases of motorcycle thefts all over the state, with 10 in the Bhubaneswar Urban Police District (UPD) area.
Police recovered 10 motorcycles, two number plates, and a bunch of duplicate keys from the accused. Meena said police got a whiff about the gang’s activities while investigating a motorcycle theft complaint lodged by Old Town resident Prabir Mohanty at Lingaraj police station February 6, this year.
The DCP said the complainant had parked his Royal Enfield motorcycle (OD 02 CT 7203) in front of his house when it was stolen. After a monthlong chase, the special squad arrested the foursome from their hideouts in the City on credible intelligence, Meena added.
During their interrogation, police learnt that Dipuna and Bijaya used to steal vehicles from busy market locations using duplicate keys and later sold those to Taslim and Deepak.
They would particularly target old Honda motorcycles as those were easier for them to unlock with duplicate keys. Meena said Taslim and Deepak used to sell the stolen vehicles in the Kakatapur and Astaranga areas. In a few cases, they dismantled the vehicles and sold the parts to garages.
The accused were booked under Section 303 (2) of BNS and produced before a local court for remand.
PNN
