Darjeeling Police nab man stealing 16 bikes from the hills

Police recovered two motorbikes after following up the case which was registered in October, 2023

EOI, DARJEELING, FEBRUARY 8, 2024 : In a major breakthrough the Darjeeling Police have solved the cases of bike theft occurring in the hills for the past several months and arrested one person. 

On Wednesday the police recovered two motorbikes after following up the case which was registered in October, 2023. In total, the police so far have recovered 16 two- wheelers that had been stolen by a single person. 

The Police have arrested Ashim Bhowmik, a 36-year- old resident of of Cooch Behar, who has since confessed to the bike lifting. On December 27, 2023, in the wee hours of the morning a youth on a scooter was stopped by the police at a nakka check post on the Pankhabari route in Kurseong sub-division. 

The youth attempted to flee when he was questioned by the two constables and an ASI on duty. "In October and November of 2023 we were receiving complaints of Darjeeling Police nab man stealing 16 bikes from the hills bike and scooty thefts from Mirik and Kurseong. We went on the alert and immediately formed small teams to do nakka checking at specific places. 

This aside, we also did real time monitoring and patrols at night on a continuous basis. As a result on December 27, we managed to nab the culprit," said Darjeeling Superintendent of Police Praween Prakash on Thursday. 

The police Superintendent said the arrested person had confessed to stealing bikes and scooties from the hills. 

"The day Bhowmik was arrested he was returning back to Cooch Behar on a scooty he had stolen from Kurseong town. The culprit has given a statement that he is behind the theft of the 16 motorbikes stolen from the hills so far. We traced the crime pattern that the accused had left behind to nab him," said Prakash. 

The Darjeeling SP said the arrested had also given demonstration on how bikes and scooties could be unlocked within a matter of 10 minutes. "The culprit agreed and gave us a demonstration. He removed the front cover of the scooty and broke a hanging clip with a screwdriver which unlocked the handle. 

He then joined two wires and the scooty started on its own without any ignition. Similarly, he opened the headlight of an Enfield bike and joined two wires to start the bike and broke the clip to unlock the handle. He did this within 10 minutes," said Prakash. 

The police official appealed to vehicle owners to take safety measures when parking on the road. 

"Firstly, people should avoid parking their motorbikes and scooters on the road which will be easy targets for the thieves. If at all one is compelled to, it should be sure to use wheel lock or other heavy metal chains so that the thieves are not able to lift off the vehicle," said Prakash. 

The senior police official said the arrested person did not have accomplices and was not part of a bigger gang, but would sell the stolen bikes and scooties in Cooch Behar at nominal prices.