A 30-year-old man from Kuruvattur panchayat in Kozhikode district who frequently targeted working women to steal their scooters was nabbed by the Chevayur police on Saturday.
Shaneed Arafath, the suspect in the case, was arrested with 11 stolen two-wheelers.
According to the police, the youth stole about 50 scooters from various parts of Kozhikode and Kannur districts. His style of operation was to secretly chase women riders to their homes and then escape with the vehicle if it was not properly locked by the owner, they said.
All the thefts were made in short intervals. There were also occasions when he lifted more than two scooters a day. The police took up the case seriously noticing a strange increase in the number of complaints from women two-wheeler owners. The case was investigated under a team of officers led by Chevayur Circle Inspector P. Chandramohan.
“As many of the owners left the keys with their vehicles in rush, it was easy for him to operate the theft. There were also documents like registration certificate and licence inside many vehicles which helped him sell them easily,” said a police officer from Chevayur station.
He added that the youth was addicted to gambling and used to pawn stolen scooters for money.
