Bike-crazy gang of thieves nabbed

The gang would abandon the two-wheelers near drainages and railway buildings in Otteri

In a twist to ‘passion’ crime, a bunch of Ayanavaram youth stole motorbikes to experience the thrill of riding different makes.

The gang including Inba (22) alias Inbakumar of Korattur, Anthony Raj (24) of Villivakkam and Gopinath (23) of Ayanavaram, the latter two involved in murder cases, and Muthu (23), Sarath Kumar (23), Parthiban (22) and Chellappan (24), all from Ayanavaram, were arrested by the Otteri police on Thursday.

Months-long operation

From October 2012 to the second week of February, the Otteri police received sporadic complaints of two-wheeler thefts in their limits. “In the second week of February, there were four complaints following which we formed a team to probe the matter,” said N. Ravindran, inspector, Otteri police station.

Investigations led the Otteri police team to a group of friends from the Ekangipuram area in Ayanavaram who often hung about a railway ground in Ayanavaram.

There, the policemen encountered Inba who, along with some friends, was in the habit of stealing parked two-wheelers from Otteri, Ayanavaram and adjoining areas.

Vehicles never sold

After riding the vehicles for a while, the gang would dump them near drainages and abandoned railway buildings in Otteri.

“They never sold the stolen vehicles but changed parts to boost the vehicles’ performance. They indulged in drag racing,” Mr. Ravindran said.

They targeted two-wheelers they felt a desire to ride and abandoned them after a while.

Six recovered

The police recovered six stolen motorcycles from the gang. Further investigations are underway.