Mobike thieves strike it rich in Salt Lake

KOLKATA: After a short lull, motorcycle thieves are once again on the prowl in Salt Lake city and turning out to be faster and smarter than the police. Late on Monday evening, residents caught hold of one of the thieves. But he managed to escape as the police took their own time to arrive and because the captors failed to recognise a crude bomb and allowed it to lie next to the captive.With the escape, an opportunity was lost to bust a gang operating across the Bangladesh border. Residents of AC 127 in Salt Lake became targets of motorcycle robbers twice in less than a month. On January 20, a three-member gang had escaped with a Hero Honda Passion, parked in the garage, at gunpoint. On Monday evening, the gang struck again, but this time, the family managed to hold one of them. As they waited for the police, the gangster exploded a crude bomb and escaped. In the process, Subhas Roy (27), who was holding him down, suffered serious injuries and is now in hospital. "We have lived in Salt Lake since 1997 and seen things become worse each year," his uncle said. Residents complain the police do not arrive on time. The police say it takes them time to cover the distance and find the right address. "Not all of us know Salt Lake that well," argued a senior officer at the Bidhannagar (north) police station. According to the police, Salt Lake is a haven for motorcycle thieves. Most of them come in from Bongaon and Basirhat, said officer-in-charge Bidhannagar (north) police station AK Ray. "These gangs regularly conduct sorties to find out who park their motorcycles where. They focus only on the motorcycles from the Hero Honda stable," he said. Motorcycles stolen in Salt Lake are sent off to Bangladesh right away. Most gangs take short cuts over the Keshtopur canal which police vehicles cannot negotiate, making the chase almost impossible. The motorcycle engines are in demand in Bangladesh for motorised boats. According to Ray, two brothers Suresh and Subhas Bala had held Salt Lake to ransom for over two years. Between them, they stole more than 150 motorbikes. Both of them were killed in police encounters. There was a lull for about four months after the last encounter on July 4, 2002. But in the last two months, there has been a renewed spurt in thefts.