Kathmandu, November 7:

As many as 215 motorcycles were stolen in the Kathmandu Valley in the past two months.

According to the Valley Traffic Police Office (VTPO), Ramshahpath, 215 complaints were lodged in the office between mid-August and mid-October.

Rajendra Bastola, inspector at the VTPO, said most of the motorcycles were stolen while being parked on the pavements. The VTPO has recovered 26 motorcycles so far.

Police are finding it hard to prevent motorcycle theft, as such cases are increasing rapidly.

Five hundred and sixteen complaints of motorcycle theft were registered at the VTPO during the last fiscal year. The number of theft cases registered in the past two months is almost half of the cases registered throughout last year. “This is alarming,” a police official expressed fear.

Police had recovered only 38 motorbikes last year. Bastola said such motorcycles are found in abandoned conditions. “Some are also found while conducting surprise checks of licenses and bluebooks,” he added.

Police officials said investigations have shown that thieves use duplicate keys. “They make keys of different sizes and use them to steal motorcycles,” he said.

The VTPO further said it has started to keep vigil over motorcycle workshops to reduce the theft rate as well as to identify thieves. “We have also asked workshops not to repair without bluebooks,” Senior Superintendent of Police at the VTPO said.