Ballari: What began as an investigation into the theft of a single motorcycle in Siruguppa has led police to a suspected serial bike thief and the recovery of 41 stolen motorcycles.
Siruguppa police have arrested a 56-year-old autorickshaw driver and recovered 41 stolen motorcycles worth approximately Rs 20.5 lakh, allegedly stolen from various parts of Ballari, Chitradurga and Vijayanagara districts, Ballari SP Suman D. Pennekar told reporters on Wednesday.
The accused has been identified as Siddareddy alias “Splendor” Siddareddy, a resident of Ashok Nagar in Ballari. He is said to have earned the nickname because of his alleged preference for stealing Hero Honda Splendor motorcycles.
The breakthrough came during the investigation into the theft of a Hero motorcycle reported stolen from a ground in Siruguppa town on June 2. During the probe, investigators found that the accused had allegedly stolen not only the motorcycle involved in the case but several others as well.
Further investigation revealed that the accused had allegedly stolen motorcycles from Siruguppa, Ballari city, Hosapete, Molakalmuru, Challakere and Chitradurga. All 41 motorcycles have been recovered and seized, police said.
Of the recovered vehicles, 16 were reported stolen from Ballari district, 21 from Chitradurga district and four from Vijayanagara district.
According to police, the accused’s modus operandi was unusual.
Siddareddy primarily targeted Hero Honda Splendor motorcycles parked in crowded public places during the daytime. He allegedly used duplicate keys to steal the vehicles and later removed their original number plates.
Police said he would photograph registration numbers of motorcycles on the road and use those details to obtain duplicate registration documents through KarnatakaOne by falsely claiming that the original documents had been lost. He would then have new number plates made, affix them to the stolen motorcycles and sell the vehicles as genuine second-hand bikes to unsuspecting buyers.
The investigation revealed that the accused had used this method to dispose of the stolen motorcycles and avoid detection.
The accused has been arrested and remanded to judicial custody.
The operation was carried out by a special team of Siruguppa police with technical assistance and under the supervision of senior district police officers.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
