13 October,2016 01:53 PM IST | | Anurag Kamble
Andheri duo had picked up a trick to jump start Bullets and sold them out of town; a year into the criminal life, a bike mechanic smelt a rat and called the cops on them
The stolen bikes recovered
Many will vouch for the YouTube tutorials that helped them save the day or graduate from college in tough circumstances. Or there is the other kind: those who land up in jail because they learnt how to jump a bike without a key.
Hrushil Utekar and Rajesh Tolar
Two boys from Andheri fall squarely in the second bracket as they recently landed in the cops' net while attempting to sell one of the several stolen Bullets to a local mechanic. The police has traced and recovered four Bullets and two other motorcycles that were stolen over the year.
Hrushil met Rajesh at a popular eatery, and later they saw a YouTube video that taught how to jump bikes without a key. Illustrations/Uday Mohite
Fun times
Hrushil Utekar (21), a resident of Marol and son of an ex-army man was a regular visitor to a food joint in Andheri where he met Rajesh Tolar (25) in August last year. "While both were Commerce students, they had a shared interest in motorcycles, which was fuelled by a YouTube tutorial that showed tricks on jumping bikes without keys. They first tried the trick on the motorcycle of a person they knew, in case they got caught and had to explain themselves," said Assistant Police Inspector Sanjay Kandalkar from MIDC police station. They were successful and after using the bike for a month, they sold it for Rs 50,000 to a guide in Lavasa, Pune. Soon, it was a regular activity and even their parents were not aware that they were up to criminal activities, said the officer.
Read Story: Mumbai crime: Trio steals 14 bikes, two of them owned by policemen
They managed to steal a bike and sell one successfully to a guide in Lavasa for Rs 50K
In August 2016, though, after Hrushil visited a garage in the MIDC area and sought a buyer for the Bullet, it aroused the suspicion of the mechanic, who mentioned it to a friend. The friend tipped off the MIDC police, and after keeping a close eye on his activities, detained him. He first pretended to not know anything, but after intensive interrogation, confessed to his crime.
Also Read: Mumbai: Mobile on silent mode leads cops to bike thieves
In August, they aroused the suspicion of a mechanic when Hrushil kept pestering him, who then tipped off the police
Police says
"We arrested Rajesh in September. They have been booked under IPC section 379 (theft), 34 (common intention) of the IPC. They have committed this crime in Saki Naka, MIDC, Ghatkopar and Andheri. The duo is now in Ghatkopar police custody," added API Kandalkar.
The police kept a close eye on Hrushil and soon detained him where he confessed to his crime
