Miscreants cheat bike rental firms, submit false id, sell vehicles

BHUBANESWAR: At a time when various transportation facilities like motorcycles on rent are flourishing in the metro cities, businessmen in the Capital are finding it difficult for providing similar options here. There are certain firms in the City which are providing motorcycles on rent for the convenience of the people coming here from other parts of the State or other areas of the country, but they are facing a tough time due to the forgery committed by some miscreants.

Ashish Kumar Pradhan, who runs bike rental firm 'Young Drive' in Patrapada, said that he had about 12 two-wheelers and he was providing the vehicles on rent, but some miscreants took the motorcycles and never returned. The firm charges Rs 200 to Rs 300 per day for providing different types of two-wheelers on rent. Pradhan said that the people taking the two-wheelers on rent submit one original identity proof like Aadhaar card, PAN card, and others, before taking the motorcycle along with the vehicle's registration card's photocopy. However, some miscreants started to lure the youths by giving them Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 for getting the two-wheelers on rent by submitting their identity proofs.

The bike rental firm's owner alleged that later the miscreants allegedly sold the motorcycles in Berhampur. Subsequently, Pradhan lodged a complaint with Khandagiri Police alleging that some miscreants took four motorcycles from him on rent, but they never returned the vehicles.

Similarly, one Siddique Ahmed Khan, who is the owner of bike rental firm 'Let's Ride', had lodged a complaint with Nayapalli Police alleging that some miscreants took two-wheelers from him on rent, but later sold the vehicles in Berhampur. Nayapalli Police registered a case and arrested five persons along with recovering 14 motorcycles from them. Meanwhile, Khandagiri Police said that some miscreants, who were involved in the crime, are still absconding. -"We have launched a search operation to nab the other miscreants involved in such crimes,-" Khandagiri Police Station inspector-in-charge Himanshu Swain said.