KATHMANDU, AUGUST 18

Traffic police arrested Amar Sunar, 24, of Kaski with a stolen motorcycle from Paknajol, Kathmandu Metropolitan City, yesterday.

The bike belonging to Ramod Thakur of Bara was lifted from Milanchowk, Baneshwor, in May.

Four months after the incident, plainclothes cops deployed from the Metropolitan Police Traffic Division managed to retrieve the stolen bike. Sunar was found to be riding the stolen bike by replacing the original registration number plate with a fake one. The MTPD said the bike would be handed over to the owner concerned after necessary investigation into the case and verification of the documents.

However, all victims of motorcycle theft are not as lucky as Thakur as stolen bikes are rarely retrieved. The ratio of bike theft and recovery is around 4:1. According to the statistics released by the MTPD, it registered a total of 1,604 complaints related to bikelifting during the fiscal 2021-22, but only 506 bikes were retrieved. Similarly, police arrested more than 99 persons for their alleged involvement in bike lifting.

Traffic police deploy sleuths led by an inspector in the remote hills and Tarai region to intercept stolen bikes. Racketeers are found to be selling a stolen bike for Rs 20,000 to Rs 200,000 depending on its condition and brand. Most of the two-wheelers lifted from Kathmandu are sold to clients in rural parts that have road networks but lack the presence of law enforcement officials, thereby making it almost impossible for police to locate such bikes.

Almost all the stolen bikes are used by replacing the genuine registration number with fake ones. Hospitals, hotel and temple premises and busy marketplaces are more vulnerable to bike theft.

Senior Superintendent of Police Rajendra Prasad Bhatta, Janak Bhattarai, MTPD in-charge, advised bike owners to park their two-wheelers in secure places with handles locked.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 19, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.