Lucknow Bike Theft Ring Busted: 5 Unemployed Youths Arrested

On August 5, 2025, the Lucknow police arrested a gang of five young men who had been operating a motorcycle theft racket across the city. The group, aged between 18 and 24 years old, had initially bonded over casual hangouts at a local shopping mall but gradually formed a criminal enterprise.

According to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central), Ashish Srivastava, the accused individuals - Suraj Gautam, Sumit Singh, Abhishek Rajput, Ravi Thapa, and Suraj Singh - were all residents of Lucknow and had no prior criminal records. They had turned to theft due to financial hardships and unemployment.

The police have recovered 21 stolen two-wheelers from various locations, including the homes of the accused and the hideouts they had set up. Explaining their modus operandi, Srivastava said that two members of the gang would survey a location, while another would use a master key to unlock and ride away with the targeted motorcycle in less than a minute.

The breakthrough in the case came following a tip-off received by the Aashiana police station. The stolen motorcycles were hidden across several locations, with some parked inside the homes of the accused and others placed at acquaintances' residences under the pretext of a space crunch. The gang would later sell the bikes at throwaway prices without any registration papers.