Man starts stealing bikes to support his 2 wives
Recovered Bikes. Courtesy: Sandeep Patil
Last week, Bangalore police arrested a 32-year-old who had resorted to stealing bikes to support the needs of his two wives and families.
The accused, identified as Murali Ramrao, was a coolie by profession. When he found it difficult to make ends meet, the decided to start stealing bikes to support his income. He was finally caught in the act when he was trying to steal a Honda Dio from a hotel in Sheshadripuram on July 5.
According to a report on Bangalore Mirror, Murali adopted a rather different modus operandi than most. Whenever he would go to visit one of his wives, he would take a BMTC bus. But on his return journey, he would steal a bike with the help of duplicate keys. Then he would lend the bike to his friends for a few days, following which he would sell the bike.
An official told Mirror, “He repeated the act as often as possible whenever he visited his wives. Murali had managed to steal and sell over 25 bikes from different areas in the city. He had made stealing bikes his second profession.”
Sheshadripuram police seized 25 two-wheelers from his possession worth an estimated Rs 15 lakh. “When we arrested Murali, he confessed to stealing bikes and said that he did it because he had no other way of earning money. He said he had to look after two families as he is married to two women. When his wives questioned him about the bikes, he always said that they belonged to his friends. He was also given to racing and gambling which didn’t help his situation,” added an officer.
With Murali’s arrest, police was able to close a total of 22 cases registered across police stations across the city. He has been booked under section 379 (punishment of theft) of the Indian Penal code.
