Look, how easy it is to steal a bike in Chennai

Chennai: Ever wondered how easy it is to steal your locked bike from a busy street in broad daylight? A video grab going viral in social media and on WhatsApp shows a perfectly dressed man - in a full sleeve shirt tucked into blue jeans, coolers on and wearing shoes - spends some 30 seconds with a bike to break the lock and start it before speeding away while his friend on another bike stood guard there.

It can happen anywhere and it could be anybody's bike. In this case, the target bike was parked on a footpath near a house and the video shows bike thieves arriving on the scene on another. The camera records the time as 12 noon.

The pillion rider gets off the bike, takes off his sunglasses and lets it hang from his shirt button and then moves towards the target motorcycle. He hangs around as his friend keeps looking around to make sure nobody is noticing them. They had either missed the surveillance camera or never bothered about it.

To buy time, the pillion rider bends down to tie his shoelaces. He squats near the front wheel of the target bike. Moving quickly then, he uses a tool to snap a wire and later he joins a couple of wires below the handlebar of the bike, probably to ensure it starts on the first kick.

He then sits on the bike, holds the right handlebar of the bike, which is locked with the front wheel on the left side, with his right hand. He keeps his left foot on the left handlebar and kicks with full power and the handlebar lock breaks in the process. He then takes his seat, kick starts the bike and speeds away with his companion in tow on the other bike.

“It is not clear if the theft was filmed in Chennai. But most bike thieves operate like this. One heavy twist of the handle bar can break the lock, which bikers believe can protect their vehicle from theft. Some push the bike away from the scene while a few others find a way to kick start the bike by joining the ignition wire,” a police officer observed.