Visakhapatnam: Miscreants are stealing helmets locked to the two-wheelers even while the traffic police and RTA authorities are busy cracking whip on those violating the helmet rule. There are several complaints pouring in from the motorists about miscreants stealing their helmets, specially the branded ones, by cutting the helmet lock but cops are clueless about the gangs involved in the robbery in the city.
“I parked my vehicle near KG Hospital, leaving a new Studds helmet locked to it. When I returned, I found my helmet missing. The lock was cut with a pliers, said N. Tilak Kumar, a marketing executive. in the city.
A few others said that the miscreants were using sharp-edged knives, cutting the straps and stealing the helmets.
Sources said the miscreants stealing the helmets were either selling them or using it for themselves as there was a scarcity of branded helmets in the city, following the strict enforcement of the helmet rule. The gangs are also stealing only branded helmets, each of which costs around Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500.
A senior police inspector said they have received some complaints from motorists that their helmets were stolen when they left them to the bikes.
“Earlier, there used to be complaints regarding stealing of petrol from parked vehicles. Now, we are receiving complaints about theft of helmets,” he added.
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