CHENNAI: Reskilling gives one an edge over others when his business or job prospects are failing. A 39-year-old bike thief seems to have understood the concept very well as he became adept at stealing and selling bikes unnoticed after watching YouTube videos.
Ramesh of Korattur was into buying and selling used vehicles. According to police, he was not satisfied with the profit from the business, hence decided to steal bikes. But, he could easily get caught with chassis number.
That is where comes the role of all-knowing YouTube to answer to all his ‘how to’ questions. “He found it difficult to fabricate documents for stolen vehicles and took YouTube’s help in learning to remove chassis numbers,” a police officer said.Ramesh invested in necessary tools and ‘mastered the art’ of fabricating chassis numbers through YouTube videos.
Villivakkam police inspector Shanthi Devi explains the man’s modus operandi: "He would first steal original vehicle documents from parked two-wheelers. Then, he would look for two-wheelers, the model as described in the stolen document, which were left by owners with keys on. After stealing them, he would erase the chassis number and print the chassis number that is found on the stolen document. He would give it a coat of paint if required and post an advertisement on OLX. To the buyers, he would give a fake Transfer of Ownership form. Since the chassis number in the bike matches with that in the document, the buyer would not suspect him. Also, since many buyers do not transfer ownership immediately, they wouldn’t realise that they had been duped."
In a year, Ramesh stole and sold over 25 two-wheelers. With his inputs, police recovered as many as 12 two-wheelers. He was caught and remanded in judicial custody on Sunday.