Rebels lift high-end bikes for fast buck

GUWAHATI: Owners of high-end bikes in the city are at risk of losing their prized possessions to militants. Members of various insurgent groups have taken to stealing these expensive motorcycles to make easy, big money.
This revelation came to the fore after the city's Bhangagarh police found one such motorbike, which costs around Rs 4 lakh, from the Khalaktang area of West Kameng district in Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday.
According to police, the bike was stolen from the city's Rupnagar area in May. "The motorcycle belonged to a businessman in Jagiroad and was stolen from one of his relative's house here. We have leads that a team of four rebel of the Ranjan Daimary faction of National Democratic Front of Boroland is involved in stealing the high-end motorcycle. We have arrested one person in connection to the case," said a policeman investigating the case.
Police managed to crack the case when the group failed to operate the bike without the original key and send their agent, a mechanic, to the city to collect some spare parts and a duplicate key from the bike's showroom at Paltan Bazar.
"We have only sold four such bikes in the entire region. So, when a man came asking for duplicate keys for the bike, we immediately informed the police," said an employee of the motorcycle showroom.
City police arrested the mechanic, Nur Islam Ali, who hails from Routa, around two days back and even managed to find the bike. However, police are yet to arrest the gang members.
"There have been many cases of high-end foreign bikes, SUVs and multi-utility vehicles being stolen in the city. The rebels make a killing by selling these high-value vehicles. They cross the state's border and replace the number plates with fake ones. Often, the agents drive to the neighbouring states with their families so that police don't get suspicious," said an official of the crime branch here.
According to the official records, 2,392 motorbikes were stolen from Assam in 2012 alone and only 245 out of these were recovered.