A. Chinnaraja was once the “recovery agent” for a finance company. His job is to take possession of two-wheelers from the owners who failed to repay the loan to the company that financed the vehicles.
His nature of job is to stealthily drive away the motorcycles parked in common places without the knowledge of the owners. This taught him the nuances of “stealing” motorcycles, and he became a full-fledged two-wheeler thief. After a successful run for few months, the youth is now cooling his heels behind the bars. The police have recovered 18 two-wheelers which were stolen and sold to gullible individuals by him.
“Since, he was involved in recovering motorcycles for which the dues were not paid, people thought he could sell them at rock bottom prices,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) K. Ferozekhan Abdullah said.
Similarly, the police arrested another two-wheeler thief, Manikandan of Mudhukulathur, and seized seven vehicles through his confession.
The police claim that people were not taking adequate care in securing the two-wheelers both at home and also at their work places. “We find thousands of vehicles parked outside the houses on streets at night. In many cases, people do park the vehicles on the streets at their work places too. In one of the factories where there is a huge parking area, we found three motorcycles parked on the road,” Mr. Abdullah said.
He pointed out that in many cases people in the process of saving Rs. 3 on parking fee leave their motorcycles at unmanned spots and end up losing them. The city police received as many as 54 complaints of two-wheeler thefts in the last three months alone, and 19 vehicles were recovered.
Many feel that the insurance cover for the vehicles would compensate for the stolen vehicles. “Many complainants insist only on First Information Report, but non-traceable certificate was sufficient for compensation claims from the insurance companies,” he added.
The police also find fault with the security features in the locks. “The lock of a popular brand of motorcycle is so “weak” that after one year of use any key will open the lock. Either the manufacturer should fit safe lock or the owners must change it at regular intervals to prevent theft,” Mr. Abdullah said.
He suggested that people may fit anti-theft alarms that would not cost much considering the safety it provides to the vehicles.
