The capital police on Sunday busted a motorcycle-lifting racket operating in the city by arresting four persons, including the kingpin Sukanta Kumar Reddy.
The police seized 16 stolen motorbikes, engines and other spare parts from the possession of the accused.
The police stumbled upon the racket while investigating into the theft of a motorcycle of one Srikant Parida from the Forest Park area on April 26.
Investigating into the theft, police conducted a raid and nabbed Sukanta while he was trying to flee by a motorcycle. During sustained interrogation, Sukanta revealed about the other motorbikes he had lifted and his other associates involvement in the racket.
He further revealing his modus operandi said he used to steal the motorcycles from parking lots in Unit-2, Bapuji Nagar and Ashok Nagar with the help of master keys. Later, the gang used to keep the motorcycles in the railway station and other parking lots by paying the fees.
After two to three days, he used to bring the stolen motorcycles to his garage in Sriram Nagar and dismantle them and sold the parts to scrap dealers through his associates. Sukanta mainly used to target morning walkers who used to frequent parks.