HYDERABAD: A four-Member gang, who targeted and stole Royal Enfield bikes along with goats and sheep from farms on the outskirts of the city, was arrested by the Cyberabad police on Saturday.
“11 bikes, including 6 Royal Enfields, one SUV, Rs 2.08 lakh in cash and other material were recovered from their possession,” said Cyberabad police commissioner VC Sajjanar. The accused have been identified as Mohd Shahed Ali, Mohd Aqeel Khan and two minors.
According to the police, the accused persons, residents of Mailardevpally, have been friends from childhood and. They had borrowed huge sums of money from different persons to spend on luxury items, bettings games at malls, etc. When the debts started to increase, they stole goats from the courtyards of shepherds residing in the Shamshabad, Shabad, Shadnagar, Nandigama, and Kothur mandal limits.
Later in the process, they also started stealing bikes parked in front of the houses.
It was in November 2018 that they committed their first theft -- a Royal Enfield from Kukatpally. They soon stole four more bikes and were arrested by the Hyderabad police in December only to come out on bail later. They have since continued on the criminal path.
The police said that the suspects were identified based on CCTV footages and technical evidence. The gang was nabbed during vehicle inspections at Kothur and the vehicle was seized. “The gang is involved in 11 vehicle-theft cases and have been accused of stealing 52 goats,” said Sajjanar.