The Dark Riders

doweshowbellyad=0; SPEED DEMONS (TOI)
They speed to thrill, they hunt in packs and they don't mind creating chaos. They are Delhi's very own Hell Raisers.
July 2007: As bikers went on rampage in Connaught Place on Monday night, the police arrested 45 of them. They were charged with rioting, assault and damaging public property. A senior police officer said that the terror of bikers in the New Delhi area is not new.‘‘After a drive to curb these bikers, they had stopped coming here for a few months but on Sunday night they returned and caused pandemonium,’’ he said.
April 2007: Police arrested 11 youngsters for creating nuisance and rioting in the Lutyen’s Bungalow zone.
March 2006: Police arrested 11 persons and impounded five bikes after the accused damaged a PCR van parked.
March 2006: Noida police cracked down on some youngsters from well-to-do families for racing on the Greater Noida expressway.
The ‘Tashan’ factor
“We just look forward to midnight, that’s the time our group meets at Ashram flyover. As we swing our accelerators, there is just one wish – we should not feel anything but wind. It’s beating everybody at the race that gives you the adrenaline rush. Biking is addictive and once you start doing it, there is just no getting out of it. You want to race your bike night after night. The thin line between fear and madness merges when you hit the top gear. It’s not that we have not faced trouble but you take the chances with the ecstasy of speed staring you in the face.” – Vaibhav Sharma, biker
“It’s a spur of the moment thing. A biker speeds up to show off, to impress girls, to scare people and hear applause. We call it tashan. And once you are driving at a high speed, you become aggressive and end up doing things that you shouldn’t do. I would say that biking is more addictive than alcohol.” – Akbar Ali Mirza
The smell of leather, the screech of tyres and that heady rush – few things can beat the machismo of riding a bike. As they say, there are two kinds of people in the world – those who can ride bikes and those who wish they could ride bikes. However, what happens when the fine line between biking adventure and hooliganism is breached?
Those of us who are used to driving late at night would have had a first hand experience. Mindless racing, stunts that can kill, eve-teasing any woman in the vicinity and creating chaos is all part of a night’s fun for the city’s bike enthusiasts. Last Monday, the same offence landed 45 people behind the bars.
Says SHO Verma of Connaught Place, where the racers were arrested, “They are not criminals but youngsters who did it for fun. But at the same time, it is difficult to catch them because they drive very fast and dangerously.”
However, those who were at the receiving end of bikers’ hooliganism feel that the police is being too kind. “Over the weekends, you can find bikers zooming around CP area. Sometimes they hold up traffic and even create a scene. Because of the way they drive, accidents happen frequently and you can also see them misbehaving with women. Mostly, there is no police presence to keep a check.”
Jt commissioner, Traffic, Qamar Ahmad says, “It is not a traffic problem, it is more of a law and order problem. I feel there is only one deterrent -- strict punishment for the offenders. Parents and society also need to teach them the legal and social consequences of their behaviour.”
Speed demons deconstructed
Psychologists also feel that with ‘thrill’ as their byword, these speed demons believe that anything goes. “Youngsters resort to such behaviour because they get an adrenaline rush out of it. At this age, they want to experiment with everything – drugs, reckless driving and crime. It is stimulating for them,” says psychiatrist Deepak Gupta.
As these bikers move around in groups, mob mentality also has a role to play here. “Since they move in big groups, they feel there is no individual responsibility. They get a sense of power out of misbehaving with others on road, creating chaos and breaking rules. And they feel they can get away with it,” says a senior police official.
Adds Gupta, “Dysfunctional families, hyperactivity and the inability to accept failures are some of the reasons behind such behaviour. Such people basically lack life skills.”
Films high on speed
Wild Hogs (2007): This one’s about four middle-aged men turning road racers to get away from everyday life. Thrills begin when they meet their match in another road gang.
Dhoom (2004): Thrills, chills and buffed up boys. Biker dude got a whole lot sexier in form of John Abraham who loots banks on his mean machines.
Torque (2004): The film is about rivalries between various biker gangs out to kill.
Ghulam (1998): A bike gang that gets its thrill by racing towards a moving train.