KATHMANDU, MARCH 09

Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office today handed over 23 two-wheelers, including 20 motorcycles and three scooters, which it retrieved from different places of the country, to their respective owners.

The motorcycles were stolen by racketeers from various places of Kathmandu valley at different times. They had either sold them to the clients in rural and peri-urban areas of the country or rode them.

The bikes were turned over to the owners after verification of documents.

According to the KVTPO, the bikes were mainly stolen from Pashupati area, Bouddha, Narephant, Thimi, Suryabinayak, New Baneshwor, Chabahil, Kirtipur, Satdobato, Kalanki, Gongabu, among other areas of the valley.

Plainclothes cops deployed by Victim Support Unit of the KVTPO had retrieved the stolen bikes. It had deputed cops to various parts of the country and valley to intercept the stolen bikes. Most of the two-wheelers lifted from the valley had been sold to clients in rural parts that have road networks but lack the presence of law enforcement officials.

Hospital premises and busy marketplaces are more vulnerable to bike thefts.

Superintendent of Police Abi Narayan Kafle advised bike owners to park their twowheelers in secure places by locking the handles and treating their property more seriously.

Traffic police has made a provision in such a way that any person can call the traffic police hotline (103) and submit an application to the KVTPO if his/ her vehicle is suspected to have been stolen. He said intelligent locking system with double lock option could make it difficult for racketeers to lift motorcycles.

Negligence on the part of bikers is the main cause behind the problem despite the fact that they are well-informed about daily reports of motorcycle lifting, according to a report of the KVTPO. 'Owners should be on high alert to prevent potential theft. We encourage them to use wheel-lock, disc-lock, brakelock, fuel-lock system and GPS tracker in their bikes to ensure the safety of their properties,' SP Kafle said.

Kathmandu valley reported 1,162 complaints of bike thefts during the past eight months of the current fiscal 2022-23. However, only 353 bikes have been recovered over the period, according to KVTPO.

'The bikes were turned over to the owners after verification of documents '

A version of this article appears in the print on March 10, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.