Pvt. detective who tied up with habitual offenders to steal bikes arrested

Stole 46 bikes from in and around city

The Madanayakanahalli police on Saturday unearthed a racket where a private investigator allegedly ganged up with four habitual offenders to steal 46 bikes from in and around the city.

After forming this unusual partnership, the gang members, all in their 20s, operated under the radar of the police for two years.

However, their luck ran out when they were identified by a special police team that had been formed to probe a series of bike thefts. The police analysed footage from over 50 CCTVs in and around Madanayakanahalli before zeroing in on the gang.

The accused have been identified as Ravi Kumar, 21, Muniraju, 20, Jagadish, 21, Mohan Kumar, 22, and private investigator Shivashankar, 25.

Police Inspector B.S. Manjunath, who led the team, said the prime accused Ravi Kumar and Jagadish are habitual offenders. They were involved in a robbery in 2020, but came out of prison on bail, and took up jobs at a vegetable shop on the outskirts of the city, he said.

Shivashankar works at a private detective agency on Dickenson Road. He first met Ravi Kumar through a common friend and later approached him with a business proposition. “He asked Ravi Kumar to steal bikes without number plates, reportedly for his detective work (shadowing). Shivashankar also sent photos of bikes parked in front of houses or offices and their locations to Ravi Kumar,” said a police officer.

Ravi Kumar ganged up with the others to steal the bikes. Shivakumar, after using the bikes for his work, would return them to the gang, who in turn sold them to customers at throwaway prices.

Using the modus operandi, the accused stole 10 bikes from owners living on the outskirts of the city, and five bikes in Ramanagaram district and other places.

Cash reward

The police analysed over 100 call record details before identifying the accused, who have been arrested.

IGP (Central range) M. Chandrashekhar announced a cash reward of ₹50,000 to the investigating team.

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