20 May,2011 06:31 AM IST | | Sayed Roshan
Police raided two motorbike theft gangs in past six days, arrested eight accused, still on the lookout for six suspects
In two separate raids four days apart, the Mumbai police busted two motorbike gangs, made a total of eight arrests, and recovered 42 bikes from gang members.
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The 14 stolen motorbikes that Khar police recovered after busting a gang that stole them for joyrides
While the first gang would craftily resell the stolen vehicles, the second used the bikes to race and snatch chains, cops revealed.
Strike one
For the first operation on May 14, officials from Unit 7 of the Crime Branch , Ghatkopar, acted after receiving reliable information that some persons at Malvani were involved in selling stolen motorcycles. In a meticulously planned operation, cops busted the four-member bike theft racket.
The four accused a tempo driver, a bus conductor with BEST, a driver, and a garage mechanic were arrested the same day.
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They were interrogated at length and it was disclosed that they had banded together for stealing bikes from parking lots and roads. Cops recovered 28 stolen bikes from them.
The gang would purchase second-hand bikes and others damaged in accidents at a throwaway price, only to sell them in scrap while retaining their registration papers.
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Then, they would steal a vehicle to match the model they had sold, change its registration number and the engine and chassis numbers according to the sold vehicle's papers. The numbers were professionally forged at the Motor Royal and Enfield garage in Malvani.
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These vehicles were thereafter sold to prospective customers along with the respective papers from previously sold vehicles at a good price, without any suspicion.
The arrested accused have been identified as tempo driver Ahsan Sultan Shaikh (28), bus conductor Sharif Gaffar Patel (29), driver Siraj Ahmed Ansari (26), and mechanic Irfan Ibrahim Shaikh (22). All are the residents of Malvani.
"After the racket was busted, a total of 28 motor bikes 15 Bajaj Pulsars, 3 Yamahas, 1 Karizma, 1 Bajaj Avenger, 2 Honda Unicorn,1 Honda sleek, 1 Bajaj Discover, 2 passion, 1 Scooty, 1 CD 100 and 2 three-wheeler tempos were recovered from them.
Tools such as grinder, chisel, hammer, and number plates used for forging the engine and chassis numbers were also seized from them," said Police Inspector Vinayak Vast of Unit 7 of Crime Branch.
Second raid
In their second strike on May 18, the Khar police arrested four youngsters who robbed bikes for joyrides that included road racing during nights.
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The arrested accused, part of a 10-member gang from Khar, would speed the bikes at a speed of 140 kph, cops said.
With a bias for Bajaj Pulsar and Yahama bikes with 220 cc engines, the gang used the stolen vehicles for chain snatching as well. They would sell or dump the bikes after two or so months. Cops seized 14 stolen bikes from them.
A week ago, the Khar police received a cue that the gang, involved in bike theft in the western suburbs, was to come to Santacruz on Wednesday. Cops arrested four of them from Gazdarban from the suburb's west, and are on the hunt for the remaining six.
The arrested accused have been identified as Moahmmad Siddiqui (23), Mohammad Umar Khan (23), Imran Sheikh (19) and Shashi Kamlesh Singh (19), while the rest six members are still wanted.
Sleuths are now investigating to find out if they were into the business of selling stolen bikes. According to an official, the accused were trying to crack a deal before they were busted.
According to Police Sub-Inspector Nitin Patil of Khar police station, the gang members have previous crime records and were involved in chain-snatching cases.
"We arrested them last night from Santacruz and have recovered 14 bikes, 11 of which are Bajaj Pulsars, mostly with a 220 cc engine, one is a Yamaha FZ, and two are Yamaha RX100," Patil said.
