Three days after Pune city was jolted by a low intensity bomb planted on a stolen motorbike, the Maharashtra police have asked police stations across the State to ensure that motorbike theft cases are investigated seriously.
Police fear that these bikes can be misused for similar attacks. A look at the latest figures released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) justifies their concerns. According to the NCRB, in 2013, there has been less than 25 per cent recovery of stolen motor cycles in the State.
“The complainant is only interested to get an FIR registered to claim his insurance. Even the police seem to be least motivated to pursue such cases and therefore these vehicles get easily misused by terror outfits,” said a senior police officer.
Using stolen motorbikes has been a common modus operandi adopted by terror groups. In most of the bombs planted by the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Indian Mujahideen, stolen bikes and even cars were used. Even in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast, an attack allegedly executed by a Hindu terror group, explosives were planted on a motorbike belonging to one of the accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur.
“On motor bikes, bombs can be planted on a height of at least 2-3 feet. This will hit targets above the waist making it deadlier,” the police officer said. “Motorbikes can be easily stolen and parked without catching anybody’s attention. Also when shrapnel are stuffed with the explosives, because of the height at which they are placed, they hit the victims above the chest, making it fatal,” he added.
The arrest of a car thief, Afzal Usmani, by the Mumbai police in 2008 led them to the Indian Mujahideen. According to police, the outfit had claimed responsibility for all the blasts in the country post 2005.
