The police have busted an inter-district motorbike-lifting gang and recovered 70 stolen two-wheelers following the arrest of four gang members in Jharkhand on Tuesday, a senior police officer said.
The recovery and arrests took place in the state's Saraikela Kharsawan district.
Addressing a press conference, the Superintendent of Police of Seraikela Kharsawan district, Mukesh Kumar Lunayat, said, "We have received a piece of confidential information that three motorcycle thieves from Tamar police station area of Ranchi district, who had previously stolen motorcycles from various rural markets and fairs in this region, were planning to steal motorcycles at the Kuchai market." Based on the input, a raid team headed by the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of (Saraikela), Sameer Sawaiyan, swung into action and arrested Shankar Manjhi alias Sandeep and Bhushan Machhua, residents of Raidih Mode within the limits of Tamar police station in Ranchi district, along with one stolen motorcycle, the SP said.
During interrogation, Shankar Manjhi and Bhushan Machhua confessed to stealing over 100 motorcycles over the past few years from markets and fairs across urban and rural areas of various districts, including Saraikela Kharsawan, Ranchi, West Singhbhum, Khunti, and East Singhbhum.
They said that the stolen motorcycles were sold to one Shiv Munda alias Shibu Munda, a resident of Saraikela Kharsawan district, and Mangal Munda of Khunti district.
Shiv Munda and Mangal Munda would then sell the motorcycles to villagers in Kuchai, Dalbhanga, and Arki police station areas, promising them to provide related vehicle documents later, the SP said.
Based on the lead provided by the arrested persons, the police arrested Shiv Munda alias Shibu Munda and Mangal Munda and recovered 30 stolen motorcycles hidden at their homes and nearby forest areas.
In addition, the raid team recovered 39 more stolen two-wheelers, Lunayat said, adding that raids are on to arrest the accused who are absconding.
So far, the investigation has led to the recovery of 70 stolen motorcycles, thus solving 25 cases across Saraikela, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Khunti, and Chaibasa districts. Police are verifying the owners of the remaining motorcycles. Most likely, dozens of other cases will be solved as well, he said.
The arrested persons are cunning. They used to tell people in the rural areas that they were involved in purchasing and selling old motorcycles, SP said.
A case has been registered at the Kuchai police station under various sections of the BNS.
The recovery of stolen motorcycles in such record numbers marks the biggest success for Saraikela Kharsawan police so far, Lunayat claimed, adding the recovery to date is probably the highest in number in a single operation in Jharkhand.
Meanwhile, Saraikela Kharsawan district police have urged the public to verify all documents before purchasing any vehicle and refrain from buying stolen motorcycles.
The East Singhbhum district police recovered 67 stolen motorcycles from the Kotwali police station area a couple of years ago.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
