08 October,2011 06:48 AM IST | | Vinay Dalvi
A week after the Kalwa police intensified its night patrolling activities, the cops nabbed a gang of thieves that had been creating havoc in the area for over two years.
u00a0
The cops managed to recover 17 bikes from the trio, identified as Irfan Mohammad Shabbir Sheikh (19), Tanveer Munir alias Mohammad (20), and their 14-year-old accomplice.
The bike thieves who were caught by the Kalwa police
The three were arrested on Tuesday and have confessed to stealing 17 of the 60 bikes stolen from the Kalwa police's jurisdiction.
Modus operandi
Disclosing their trade secret, the accused revealed that they would steal a bike by cutting its ignition pipe. For a couple of days after the theft, they would hide their booty in the godown, which they had rented.
The stolen bike was then taken to their garage andu00a0 stripped of its original parts.
u00a0
These parts were later used in old bikes. "We still believe that there are many more bikes which the accused have stolen. We are doing our best to recover all of them," said SPI Arun Sonde of Kalwa police station.
Night patrol
With no major arrests in the past, the police officials were asked to form separate teams and patrol till late hours to curb this increasing menace of bike thefts.
u00a0
On Tuesday, one of the patrolling teams picked up Irfan, who was seen loitering suspiciously in the area. When he failed to give satisfactory answers, he was escorted to the police station.
u00a0
During interrogation, Irfan confessed that he was in the area to lift motorcycles, and divulged details about his other two accomplices, leading to their arrest.
Copspeak
For the past two years, the accused had been stealing bikes from Kalwa area and had been hiding them at the rented godown.
"The ever-increasing cases of bike lifting have become a serious cause of concern for us.
u00a0
This year, 60 motorcycles have been stolen from our jurisdiction, of which 15 have been recovered in the past. With the arrest of Shaikh and Munir, we have cracked 17 more cases," said Arun Sonde.
