Bengaluru: Four interstate thieves, including an engineering graduate who took inspiration from bike-stealing videos on Youtube and stole high-end bikes to make a quick buck, have landed in the police net.
The thieves learnt different methods of stealing bikes from Youtube videos. The gang stole only one bike a week and that too only high end ones. They were stealing bikes for the last six months, the police said.
The arrested have been identified as Prabhu (21) from Vellore district in Tamil Nadu, Arun Sai (21) and Karthik N. (18), both residents of Doddanagamangala. The other arrested is a minor boy. The police recovered from them 21 bikes worth Rs. 30 lakh. Prabhu became friends with Karthik, who is a B.Com student, and Arun Sai, who is studying second PUC. The gang then learnt easy and innovative ways of stealing bikes through Youtube videos. They got so good that they could steal bikes in the blink of an eye.
"The accused went around on their scooters, reconnoitring areas during nights and identified high-end vehicles parked outside houses and lifted them. They conducted their operations between 3 am and 6 am when everyone would be fast asleep. Prabhu later took the bikes to his hometown and sell them," the police said.
He sold the bikes for as low as Rs 10,000, saying the vehicles belonged to his friend and had been seized by private financiers for defaulting on loans. He would assure the customers that the documents were with his friend who is out of the station and that he would hand them over in a few days.
With the money, they toured many places, including Mysuru, Pondicherry and Kerala. The stolen bikes included a Honda CBR, six Royal Enfields and 14 Bajaj Pulsars.
