Unable to marry during lockdown, man starts stealing bikes, nabbed

Nagpur: Lockdown blues seem to have taken toll on an ex-cop’s son, Pravesh Kangale, who started stealing bikes in frustration over not being to find a match to marry. Kangale, whose sister-in-law too is in police department, ran out of luck after cops started searching for him following theft of a bike at police headquarters.
Gittikhadan police team, under senior inspector Gajanan Kalyankar, is learnt to have recovered eight stolen bikes from Kangale which he had abandoned after they ran out of fuel. Police said Kangale barely disposed of any bikes after stealing them. Though Kangale has got previous records of bike thefts, there was no record of any crime by him after 2014.
Police said Kangale had stolen half dozen vehicles between July 18 and 19 before getting trapped on July 20. He had got frustrated staying alone and wanted to marry but none of his relatives, including his elder brother, took any interest in it. According to cops, Kangale has revealed during his interrogation that not getting married tormented him so much that he became vengeful.
It’s learnt Kangale, who earned his livelihood through small works, had been left jobless due to lockdown. Loneliness and joblessness drove him to commit thefts of bikes. “He (Kangale) basically targeted bikes whose handle locks would be left unlocked. He used some master keys to start the ignition of the bikes and fled with them. After the joy-ride, Kangale would abandon it and steal another bike,” said sub-inspector Datta Pendhkar of Gittikhadan police station.
It’s learnt that Kangale had stolen a bike from Hingna and came to police headquarters where he used to stay earlier when his father was in the police department. Kangale got trapped following an information of constable Baljeet Thakur.
After his arrest, police recovered the stolen bikes by Kangale from different places where he had left them parked. He had stolen bikes from Sadar, MIDC, Hingna, Mankapur, Sadar and Gittikhadan, sources said.
Police said several arrested persons like Kangale have stated during their custodial interrogation that they were forced to steal after being rendered jobless due to lockdown.