Ransom twist to motorcycle theft tale in Gurugram
Police officers probing the case said at around 5pm that day, Yadav received a call from a man who introduced himself as Ramjeet Kumar and informed him that his motorcycle was with him. For its release, the man demanded ₹12,000 within an hour
Dharamdev Yadav, 57, had parked his motorcycle in front of a bank in Gurugram’s Sector 10 at around noon on Tuesday. When he returned 20 minutes later, his two-wheeler — bought barely a month ago — was gone. Initially, Yadav said, he thought that the police had towed his vehicle away and made his way to the nearby impound yard.
After being unable to find his motorcycle, Yadav lodged a complaint and a case under Section 379 (theft) was registered at the Sector 10 police station.
“I returned home and informed my family about the theft. I really needed the motorcycle as my office is in a remote area, and there is no public transport available for that destination,” he said.
Police officers probing the case said at around 5pm that day, Yadav received a call from a man who introduced himself as Ramjeet Kumar and informed him that his motorcycle was with him. For its release, the man demanded ₹12,000 within an hour.
“I did not believe him and asked the man to show me proof. He gave me a video call and sure enough, he did have my motorcycle,” Yadav said.
Yadav said he received five phone calls between Tuesday and Wednesday — all demanding a ransom. The caller also threatened him, but had switched off his phone on Thursday morning.
At least eight vehicles are stolen in Gurugram every day, making vehicle theft the most-often reported crime in the city, the latest police statistics show. However, over the last four days, the theft of four motorcycles in Gurugram has stood out — in each case, the owner of the vehicle received a “ransom” call for its release.
Hanuman Singh, a resident of Delhi’s Sarita Vihar who parked his motorcycle on MG Road at around 1.10pm on Tuesday, said his vehicle was lifted within 10 minutes.
“My motorcycle was lifted despite many people being present at the spot. After complaining to the police, I returned home. At around 6pm, I received a call demanding a ransom of ₹15,000 to return my motorcycle,” said Singh.
The release of the “ransom” is also not any guarantee that the motorcycle would be returned. Another victim, who requested anonymity, said his motorcycle was stolen from Sadar Market on Monday afternoon and within two hours he received a ransom call.
“I paid ₹13,000 to the suspect but he switched off his phone after receiving the money,” the victim said.
Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), Gurugram, said they registered the cases, have placed the suspects’ mobile numbers under surveillance, and are probing the incidents.
“We are scanning CCTV footage of the areas from where the motorcycles were stolen and other routes leading to Nuh to identify the suspects,” he said.
Varun Singla, superintendent of police, Nuh, said that no such case has been reported in their district. “We encourage people to come forward and file complaints against these people who are allegedly making ransom calls so that timely action can be taken against them,” he said.
However, a senior Gurugram police officer, on condition of anonymity, said many people do not report these incidents as the gangs involved also threaten the victims, and because they take claims from insurance companies.
One man, who is involved in lifting vehicles in Nuh, claimed his gang was behind these ransom calls.
“We do not return the motorcycles even after receiving the money as the police might lay traps to arrest us. We keep changing our modus operandi to make quick money,” he said, asking not to be named.
“Delhi and Noida residents pay money more easily in comparison to other areas. We sell our stolen motorcycles to dealers in Uttar Pradesh,” he added.
