Lifters eyeing high-end vehicles

Visakhapatnam: Not only high end but also old Yamaha preferred choice for vehicle lifters. In the past two years, vehicle lifting cases were increased in the city. As per new trend, vehicles are being lifted keeping with the demand for models and colours. Not only new bikes but also old bikes like Yamaha RX-100 and Yamaha- RXZ and a few others were the target of the vehicle lifters.

On the other end, cops find it difficult to recover the stolen bikes. Over 1,040 bikes (524 in 2016 and 522 in 2017) were stolen in the past two years under various police stations limits in the city and over 60 per cent of the stolen bikes are yet to be recovered.

There were only 11 cars and 66 three-wheelers were stolen in the city in the last two years. DCP (South Zone) T Ravi Kumar Murthy said that the vehicle lifters mostly target high-end bikes such as Babaj Pulsar and Royal Enfield, Bajaj Avenger bikes and others as per demand and attractive colours. Though Yamaha RX-100 bike was banned long ago, the old bike is still in great demand and it was also preferred target for the vehicle lifters, he added.

‘A senior police officer on condition of anonymity said that the most sensitive areas of vehicle thefts are One-Town, Maddilapalem, Pedawaltair, Gajuwaka. Vehicle-lifters possess master keys to open the lock of any vehicle within a minute. After stealing a vehicle, they leave the city to hide in a safe place from where they contact the dealers to sell the vehicle.

The stolen vehicles are mostly sold in neighbouring Odisha and parts of Vizag Agency, he added. Admitting that the percentage of solved cases in bike thefts is not too good, a police officer said that they have been appealing the bike users to try to have either a ring or wheel lock before parking their bikes at public places as nowadays breaking the handle-locks of bikes is very easy, he added.