Man steals branded bicycles, sells them off to paramilitary staff; arrested

Police seized 45 cycles worth Rs 10 lakh from the accused

The stolen bicycles recovered by the Sanjaynagar police.

A 21-year-old suspected thief who sold stolen bicycles to paramilitary staff has been recently nabbed by Sanjaynagar police, who recovered 45 cycles worth Rs 10 lakh from him.

With the arrest of Mohammed Rafiq, a resident of Byatarayanapura on Mysuru Road, police have solved around 15 cases and have traced the owners of 19 bicycles. They are making efforts to trace the owners of the remaining 25 bicycles.

Rafiq stole bicycles from Sanjaynagar, Hebbal, Marathahalli, Nandini Layout, Yelahanka New Town, Amruthahalli and High Grounds.

On September 19, a police team headed by inspector Balaraj J held an ‘area domination’ in their jurisdiction to detain criminals, vagabonds and anti-social elements lurking in public places. Rafiq was caught and taken to the station where police found a cutter in his pocket. When interrogated, Rafiq confessed to using the cutter to break bicycle locks and steal them.

On September 13, a case of bicycle theft had been registered at the Sanjaynagar police station. Anil Kumar Singh, 35, an Indian Air Force Havildar who resides in AECS Layout, found his Hercules Roadeo A475 bicycle stolen on September 10 although he had parked it in front of his house the previous night.

Rafiq confessed to having stolen Singh’s bicycle and had scouted the area for more bicycles to steal.

Rafiq, who works as a labourer in City Market, Kalasipalya and surrounding areas, tried his luck in stealing a bicycle 10 years ago and had succeeded in the attempt. Taking his friend Adil Pasha’s help, he also managed to sell the stolen cycle. Pasha was Rafiq’s neighbour and is currently living in Doddaballapura.

Rafiq and Pasha roamed around neighbourhoods to spot parked bicycles. They returned in the night to steal them. They used the method to steal six bicycles in a year.

Sold to paramilitary force

The duo stole branded bicycles. Rafiq befriended a CRPF staff and sold the cycles to the CRPF staff and other paramilitary staff saying he was into selling used bicycles. Buyers paid Rs 5,000 or Rs 10,000 depending on the brand of the bicycle.

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