A bicycle thief with a garage to ‘park’ spoils finally in police net
Times of India | 20 November 2024
12 Kolkata: He is just 24-year-old but has specialized in a particular type of crime — stealing bicycles. He started stealing them in 2022 and in two years, he stole over two dozen bicycles. He has even set up a garage to "park" them. Rajesh Chiti, alias Bhote, had been questioned earlied for the crime but was finally picked up by Parnasree Police on Monday.
Cops have so far recovered five bicycles from the accused, who claimed that stealing bicycles was the "safest bet" as rarely they get reported. He used the money to buy drugs, claim cops. He may have been involved in over a dozen cycle thefts in the past year alone, a police officer said.
According to police estimates, he set up an abandoned ‘workshop-cum-garage' where he parked the stolen cycles only to sell them off — as a whole or in parts — to any bidder he thought was suitable to pay him in cash.
"He would go around telling his potential customers that he was in dire need of money as his father was detected with cancer. To others, he would say his brother needed money to continue his education. He offered cycles at much lower rates than market prices," said an investigator. Chiti kept a low profile and would do recce of a neighbourhood before striking. This made him an unsuspecting criminal.
"During the investigation, persistent efforts to study CCTV footage and questioning of suspected buyers led us to Chiti. Five bicycles were recovered, including one stolen from an area under the jurisdiction of Parnashree PS. The accused was produced before a court and was sent to judicial custody till Dec 2," said DC (Southwest-Behala) Rahul De.
"From the pattern of the theft, we suspected that he might come again as many two-wheelers remain parked outside the stores of Behala-Parnasree, even till late at night. The person's face was not clear in the footage but his shirt was," said an officer from the Southwest division.
The space in front of the outlets from where aggregators collect food and other items often remains packed with parked non-engine two-wheelers of delivery personnel. "Such areas are vulnerable to theft. Delivery persons should be cautious with their vehicles," an officer said.