Cases of bike theft on the rise in Steel City, two bikes being stolen every day

Jamshedpur : Despite claims from police the staggering rise in the number of motorcycles stolen in past few months, have shocked the city. The district police, however, have failed to take any concrete action to curb the theft of motorcycles, which remain one of the most popular, and cheapest, forms of personal transportation.

Observers say that taking the lack of police effort in this area into account is also one of the reasons for the sudden rise.

Requesting anonymity, a senior police officer the victims who are a part of the lower middle class do not generally protest to pursue the case. �This is the reason why the motorcycle theft issue has never been taken seriously,� he observed.

He added that motorcycles can be easily disposed of, and there is �no concept of proper registration plates for motorcycles�. He said that the number of motorcycles had also drastically increased.

Most of the snatched or stolen motorcycles end up in the used spare parts markets after they are dismantled, according to sources, who add that a small number of motorcycles are taken to Bihar and other neighbouring states where they are disposed off.

According to information non-availability of legal parking spaces is another issue that needs attention. In previous cases, vehicles stolen from city were found registered with the transport authorities of other States. The problem can be resolved only through computerization and networking of data bases ensuring non-duplication of records.

Deputy superintendent of police, (headquarters-I) Jagdish Prasad admitted that the city is reeling under separate gangs of vehicle-lifters, but the vehicle-owners do not keep their bikes under lock-and-key properly.

” As per our study on an average two bikes are being stolen from the steel city every day. The number of vehicle theft would have been greater had the police register a case in each case of the vehicle-lifting taking place every day,” said a police officer posted at Bistupur police station.

Moreover, the two-wheelers are not only being lifted from the public places, but they are lifted from near the residential premises also.

According to a statistic, more than 300 two-wheelers have been stolen from the public places as well as the residential areas in the city from January 1. When the police have been succeeded to recover 10 percent of the stolen vehicles, the rest of the bikes were either sold out to parties in other cities or in the rural areas.