• Almost all bikes lifted from the city are sold to clients in rural areas that have road networks but lack police presence

Kathmandu, October 3

Kathmandu valley witnessed a sharp rise in theft of two-wheelers during the fiscal 2017-18, show statistics released by Metropolitan Traffic Police Division.

Victim Support Unit at MTPD registered a total of 1,380 complaints of bike theft in 2017-18 compared to 667 in 2016/17, 488 in 2015/16 and 473 in 2014/15. Still the cases of bike theft reported in 2017-18 are higher than what the traffic police dealt with from 2010-11 to 2013-14. According to statistics, MTPD received 1,532 missing complaints of bike in 2010-11, 1,453 in 2011-12, 852 in 2012-13 and 788 in 2013-14.

In response to 1,380 complaints relating to bike theft in 2017-18, traffic cops retrieved 376 suspicious two-wheelers and returned 285 of them to the concerned owners.

Senior Superintendent of Police Basant Kumar Pant, MTPD acting in-charge, said 36 persons were arrested in connection with bike thefts during 2017-18. Search for the remaining stolen bikes is on, he informed.

MPTD deploys sleuths led by an inspector in remote hill areas to intercept stolen bikes. Almost all two-wheelers lifted from the city are sold to clients in rural parts that have road networks but lack presence of law enforcement officials. Hospital and cinema hall premises, and busy markets are more vulnerable to bike thefts.

Racketeers are found selling a stolen bike for Rs 20,000 to Rs 60,000, depending on its condition. SSP Pant suggested the bike owners to park their two-wheelers in secure places with handles locked and install intelligent locking system having double lock option to make it difficult for racketeers to lift bikes.

Similarly, MTPD received four complaints of four-wheeler theft, and found and handed them over to the concerned owners upon verification of documents.