COIMBATORE: RACE Course police in Coimbatore city have come up with a bewildering solution to clamp down on bike thefts frequently reported from the premises of the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital.
The police are towing away unlocked bikes to the station to prevent thieves from laying hands on them. Owners can get their vehicle back after producing valid vehicle documents to the police. The police decided on the strange solution following a spate of bike thefts on the hospital campus.
Police say bike thieves are taking advantage of the crowd on the hospital premises. P Ganesha Moorthy (32) from Anna Nagar in Vellakinar, who visited the hospital on Tuesday morning, had parking his moped near the maternity ward. It was stolen within 20 minutes! Similarly, a sports model bike belonging to hospital staff R Yogaraj (26) of Sivananda Colony also went missing on the same day from the parking place near the dean’s office.
“Easily handled mopeds, old bikes, and other two-wheelers can be operated with a similar key pattern. Such vehicles that are not side-locked are often targeted by thieves. To prevent this, we haul bikes to the Racecourse police station and will return after the owners produce the documents,” a police officer explained the rationale behind the move.
Police also claimed bike thefts were frequent until three months ago but have gone down with increased vigilance on their part. “The private security guards on duty are monitoring for suspicious activities. The incidents of bike theft have reduced significantly in the last three months. However, due to a lack of space on the police station premises, the practice of towing bikes from the hospital was temporarily stopped for a few months. We resumed it as more vehicle thefts are reported,” said a senior police officer based at the station.
A special team has been formed to monitor and investigate bike theft cases. We will provide awareness training for the private guards on duty on the hospital premises, he added. More CCTV cameras are expected to be installed in all areas after the completion of the construction work for the new building.