Two held with 24 stolen bikes worth 36 lakh

Pune: A first-year BA student from Junnar and his friend, a painting worker, were arrested by South MIDC police on Wednesday for allegedly stealing 24 high-end motorcycles over the past three months. Police said the duo learnt motorcycle theft techniques by watching clips on a video-sharing app.To evade detection, they targeted motorcycles from Pimpri Chinchwad, Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Nashik and Ahilyanagar. However, their trail ended after they stole a motorcycle parked outside a company in Mahalunge MIDC. A police team led by senior police inspector Vijay Dhamal analysed CCTV footage along the 80km stretch between Mahalunge and Junnar before arresting Yash Hande (19) and Kiran Jadhav (26)."We have recovered 24 motorcycles worth Rs 36 lakh from the duo," deputy commissioner of police (zone-IV) Shweta Khedkar said.Assistant police inspector Bhaskar Pulli, who is probing the case, said Hande belongs to a farmer's family and is pursuing graduation. "The two wanted to ride high-end motorcycles. After watching videos on stealing two-wheelers, they developed their own method," he said.According to Pulli, the accused would identify motorcycles parked in isolated spots, remove screws near the headlight, cut wires to start the vehicle and then break the handle lock before fleeing with the bike."They initially used the stolen motorcycles for joyrides and later sold them at throwaway prices to locals in the Junnar area," Pulli added.