82 stunt bikers rounded up in overnight special drive on WEH

All the bikers were booked by Kherwadi police for speeding as well as illegal betting. They were all booked under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Motor Vehicles Act and the Gambling Prevention Act. All those caught participating in the races were produced in the court on Tuesday and were granted bail on surety of ₹10,000 each.

MUMBAI: Eighty-two stunt bikers, who allegedly indulged in racing and illegal betting late in the nights, were rounded up and 48 bikes seized during a special drive in which Mumbai Police sealed the Western Express Highway (WEH), from Kherwadi junction to Milan Subway, in the early hours of Tuesday.

Mumbai, India - April 04, 2023: Kherwadi Police Station premises full of 48 seized bikes, leaving no space to walk through, after the police in a sweeping action against 82 bikers rounded them up, who race and bet on those races on the highway late into the nights, at Bandra (East), in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, April 04, 2023. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

All the bikers were booked by Kherwadi police for speeding as well as illegal betting. They were all booked under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Motor Vehicles Act and the Gambling Prevention Act. All those caught participating in the races were produced in the court on Tuesday and were granted bail on surety of ₹10,000 each.

The operation was based on information received about races, stunts and bets being placed on the races across WEH on certain nights. Dikshitkumar Gedam, DCP, Zone 8, had instructed all the police stations under his jurisdiction to conduct the special drive to nab the bikers, who participated in these activities.

Acting on the tip off, the police personnel sealed the WEH from Bandra as well as the Malad side. They then went on the highway and apprehended all the bikers, who were found engaging in dangerous stunts and racing. The drive started a little after midnight and went on till 4 am on Tuesday.

“We had received information from our sources that these races usually take place on Monday nights and go on till the wee hours of Tuesday. They have all been booked for endangering their own lives as well as those of others, and for illegal betting,” said Gedam

The premises of Kherwadi police station in Bandra East were full of the seized bikes, leaving no space to walk through. The vehicles ranged from superbikes from brands like KTM to scooters like Activa. Parents of the booked bikers - all young men between 18 and 23 years of age, also kept visiting the police station to bail out their children.

Some of the children from the neighbourhoods had gathered outside the police station to check out the bikes. “We used to see those bikers performing the stunts when we went on walks after our dinner,” one of them said. The elders from the locality, who were also curiously looking at the goings-on were appreciative of the police action.