Prolific bicycle thief lands in police net in Panchkula

A police officer, who did not wish to be named, said the accused would walk around different sectors and steal bicycles, some of which cost up to ₹20,000, and sell them off for around ₹2,000 to fund his drug habit

A 32-year-old man on a bicycle stealing spree in Panchkula was arrested on Wednesday. He is known to have stolen at least 62 cycles.

The accused has stolen bicycles from Sectors 2,4,7,9,10,11,12,12A, 20, 21, 25 and 26.in Panchkula. (Representative Image/HT File)

The accused, Ravi Kumar, who hails from Ludhiana but was putting up in a rented accommodation in Majri village of Panchkula.

A police officer, who did not wish to be named, said the accused would walk around different sectors and steal bicycles, some of which cost up to ₹20,000, and sell them off for around ₹2,000 to fund his drug habit. The accused has stolen bicycles from Sectors 2,4,7,9,10,11,12,12A, 20, 21, 25 and 26.

“ CCTV (closed-circuit television) footage and cyber technology revealed that the same person was stealing bicycles across Panchkula,” the police officer said.

Most recently, he stole a bicycle worth ₹15,000 from Sector 26 on September 14 . He was arrested four days later on September 18 and sent to a four-day police remand. Cops have recovered 63 of the stolen bicycles.

Drug addiction cost him job, led him to crime

Sector 26 Crime Branch in-charge Mohinder Singh said, “Ravi had shifted from Ludhiana to Raipur Khurd, Chandigarh, in 2021. He started working at a private firm in Zirakpur. ‘However, after he got hooked to drugs, he was sacked. He later moved to Panchkula where he started stealing bicycles.”