Dhanbad: Five members of a bike-lifting gang, operating in Nirsa subdivision, have been arrested and 13 stolen motorcycles recovered, police said.The arrested accused were identified as Amit Kumar Chauhan, Manish Kumar Dubey, Suraj Hembrom, Chandan Kumar and Rajkumar, all residents of Nirsa police station area, police added.Dhanbad SP (Rural) S Mohammad Yakub said, “Acting on a motorcycle theft reported in the Kalubathan outpost area on June 19. SSP formed a team was under the leadership of Nirsa sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Lileshwar Mahto to investigate into the rising number of bike theft incidents in the region.”“The team apprehended five suspects along with a stolen motorcycle from near the Nayadanga Kali Mandir ground on Sunday. The accused confessed that they were part of a gang, which was involved in stealing bikes from different locations. The gang would then remove the registration number plates, erase the chassis numbers, and repaint them before selling to unsuspecting buyers. Based on the revelations made by the accused, 12 stolen motorcycles have been recovered from various police station areas,” he added.The arrested accused are history-sheeters and have been involved in motorcycle theft cases lodged in police stations of Dhanbad district as well as West Bengal. Further investigation is under way to identify other members of the gang and trace the buyers of the stolen motorcycles, police added.
