Visakhapatnam: Youngsters stealing bikes for joyrides are posing trouble to the people and the police alike.
Cases of bikes being stolen are being reported in the city but only a few of them are being recovered, that too, without fuel after a few days.
Police said youngsters interested in riding various kinds of bikes are stealing them when they come across one. They are taking the bikes on a joy ride. Once the fuel is emptying, the bikes are dumped beside the roads, in a few cases.
Bajaj Pulsar, Bajaj Eliminator and a few other high-end bikes are attracting bike enthusiasts in Vizag region.
These days, it seems the 180 and 220 cc siblings from Bajaj’s stable have won the hearts of youngsters. They are being stolen for joy rides, said DCP (crimes) T. Ravi Kumar Murthy.
According to the crime statistics, 514 bikes were reportedly stolen in 2016, 335 in 2015 and 356 in 2014. So far, over 250 bikes were stolen in 2017. But the cops could recover only 30 per cent of the stolen vehicles in Vizag city. At least 35 per cent of the bikes were stolen for joyrides only.
Once a bike is stolen, the owner can lose hope of getting it back as the offenders are disposing them in remote areas or neighbouring Odisha.
The professional bike stealing gangs sell the stolen vehicles in other districts and for this reason, the recovery percentage is very low, said a senior police officer with the Central Crime Station (CCS).
Of late, thieves are able to open the handle-locks without much effort using master keys and are vanishing with the bikes easily.
“Though the police have been appealing to the motorists to go for multiple locks, whenever the vehicle is parked outdoors, a majority of the bikers are ignoring our advice,” said Mr Murthy.
