Bhopal: Two-Wheelers Worth Rs 11.14 Crore Stolen So Far This Year

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Vehicle lifting has gone rampant in crowded areas of the city lately, that too during broad daylight. When Free Press took stock of the number of two-wheelers stolen in Bhopal this year, the senior officials of the Bhopal police commissionerate system revealed that as many as 739 two-wheelers have been stolen from January till May. A new trend has also surfaced in which the thieves prefer to steal the bikes of a particular company.

The officials further said the total cost of all stolen two-wheelers stands close to Rs 11.14 crore and the figures are the highest in the past four years. Notably, lockdowns induced by Covid-19 were imposed across the country in 2020 and 2021, during which 213 and 266 two-wheelers were stolen in Bhopal from January till May. The figure grew to 321 and 438 for the same period in 2022 and 2023, respectively.  Senior officials from the city crime branch told Free Press that a majority of the bikes, which have been stolen this year, as well as in the past years, belong to a particular company. They also shed light on sundry reasons, due to which the vehicle lifters prefer making away with the bikes of the company.

‘Bikes of particular company targeted for good mileage’

Additional deputy commissioner of police (Crime branch) Shailendra Singh Chouhan told Free Press that a particular two-wheeler manufacturing brand has emerged as the most preferred target for the thieves as they offer good mileage, due to which, they have a good re-sale value too. Underscoring another of its perks, Chouhan said after making away with the bikes, the thieves sell it to the farmers in the far-flung areas, where the engine of the bike is extracted and a pump is prepared by fitting the engine into a silver lid. Such pumps use LPG and the farmers utilise them to draw water from canals. The practice saves a lot of the money for the farmers.

Hamidia hospital, AIIMS emerge vehicle lifting hot spots

Areas such as the parking in the Hamidia hospital and the AIIMS hospital along with localities in Misrod and Kolar have topped in terms of vehicle-lifting. DCP (Crime) Akhil Patel said that a hunt is on to identify the vehicle lifting gangs and bust them.