KOCHI: A thief specialising in stealing only Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycles! Yes, you heard it right.
The police on Wednesday arrested a 31-year-old and his accomplice, both Fort Kochi residents, for having stolen as many as 11 Bullets over the past two or three months. Five of them were stolen from Kochi alone, an officer said.
After stealing the two-wheelers, Shiras alias Siraj would escape to Tamil Nadu before daybreak. His accomplice, Rishad P S, 32, carried out the recce to facilitate the crime, the officer said. In recent months, Shiras had stolen four motorbikes from Fort Kochi and two from Mattanchery. Following the bike-vanishing spree, the police formed a special squad to trace persons involved in the bike theft. Shiras was hiding in Tamil Nadu after the police launched a search for him in connection with several cases. He specifically targets Bullets due to the high demand in the resale market, said V G Ravindranath, assistant commissioner of police, Mattanchery.
“He sold the stolen Bullet motorbikes mainly in Tamil Nadu. After his interrogation, we have found that he sold 11 Bullets there. While five bikes were stolen from Kochi, six were stolen from Salem, Chennai and Bengaluru,” he said. Rishad, the accomplice, used to identify the bikes to be stolen and pass on the information to Shiras, who would arrive from Tamil Nadu on trains, the assistant commissioner said.
“He stole ordinary bikes from the railway station to reach the place identified by Rishad. He would leave the other bike and steal the Bullet. Then, he would cross into Tamil Nadu via Palakkad before dawn,” he said.
Shiras used the money received thus to procure drugs and lead a lavish life. The police used CCTV footage and other modes to identify the accused. “We are coordinating with our counterparts in Tamil Nadu to recover all the 11 stolen Bullet bikes. We managed to arrest Shiras after several days of effort,” Ravindranath said.
Shiras is also accused in drug cases registered by the excise department in Kattappana and Palakkad. Besides, 11 cases have been registered against him in various police stations in West Kochi for robbery and rape. He had absconded after trials had started in nine criminal cases at various courts, the officer said. Shiras was produced before the court and was remanded in judicial custody.