BARGARH: Padampur police on Wednesday claimed to have busted an organised bike-theft racket with the arrest of a gang of seven members involved in stealing motorcycles in the region. At least 17 stolen motorcycles were recovered from their possession.
Briefing mediapersons, a sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Padampur Amrit Pal Kaur said at around 9 pm on Tuesday, a police team was conducting routine patrolling on Gaisilet road near Kudasingha Chowk. On spotting two youths speeding on a motorcycle, the cops stopped the duo suspecting foul play.
During inspection, police found that the youths were riding the motorcycle without a key. Besides, the duo could not produce any valid document of ownership of the two-wheeler. Subsequently, they were taken into custody.
The SDPO said during questioning, the youths confessed to have stolen the motorcycle from Balangir and tampered with its chassis number. After registering a case on the basis of their inputs, a special team was formed to nab other members of the gang.
Acting on the direction of Bargarh SP Prahalad Sahai Meena, Padampur police conducted multiple raids in Gaisilet area and nabbed the other five members of the bike-theft gang.
The arrested persons are Dhananjaya Sahu (28), Kusa Nag (21), Durjyadhan Badhei (40), Madhaba Karnal (24), Laxmana Malick (36), Mahesh Sahu (22), all from Gaisilet and Maya Taria (32) of Agalpur in Balangir. They were produced in court on the day.
Kaur said further investigation is underway to ascertain the modus operandi of the gang, identify the receivers of the stolen vehicles and verify if others are involved in the racket. Police are also trying to retrieve the original registration details of the stolen two-wheelers to identify the original owners of the vehicles.