Mumbai crime: Trio steals 14 bikes, two of them owned by policemen

Officials from the Tilak Nagar police station managed to arrest a gang of motorcycle thieves that had been operating between Ghatkopar and Chembur since January

Officials from the Tilak Nagar police station managed to arrest a gang of motorcycle thieves that had been operating between Ghatkopar and Chembur since January.

The accused were identified as gang leader Mahendrakumar Bharatlal Yadav, Subhash Saroj and Manoj Sharma. The police said the gang stole 14 bikes, including two motorcycles that belonged to police personnel, of which 10 were recovered from the garage owned by Sharma in Kalyan.

The trio had already dismantled and sold the parts of the four motorbikes they had stolen. Police officials said it was patrolling officers who nabbed Yadav red-handed near Tilak Nagar railway station. They said he was trying to steal a police officer’s motorcycle.

API Avinash Pore from Tilak Nagar police station said, “The gang leader (Yadav) was arrested on Monday, during his attempt to steal a bike from Tilak Nagar station. For two days he refused to confess to his crimes. However, on Wednesday, he gave in and also revealed the names of his accomplices.”

Modus operandi
Officials said the gang targeted motorcycles kept at the parking lots close to the railway stations. It was Saroj’s job to locate a potential target and intimate Yadav. Pore said, “After receiving a tip-off from Saroj, Yadav would follow the biker to check for how long he kept the bike at the parking lot. Once satisfied that there was enough time for him to steal the vehicle, Yadav used a master key to turn on the bike and flee the spot.

After stealing a bike, they would take it to Sharma’s garage in Kalyan. The gang even stole two motorcycles belonging to police officials from Ghatkopar and Chembur.” He added that Sharma offered them space to park the stolen bikes, dismantle the vehicles and sell their parts. All three were booked under Sections 379 (punishment for theft) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and are currently in police custody.

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