Gang smuggles stolen bike engines to Bangladesh

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Smuggling of jazzy bikes from Assam to Bangladesh through Sonarhat has become a lucrative business for a gang operating along the India-Bangladesh border for the last couple of years.

According to sources, a gang of three persons- Krishna Roy, Narayan Roy and Eti Roy – is running such illegal trade through the border.

The gang is allegedly run at the behest of a senior police official of the Dhubri district along with an employee of the Customs Department.

However, no police action has been initiated. The smugglers used to transport bike engines through trucks carrying stones from Bhutan via West Bengal.

According to sources, the criminals steal bikes from Guwahati and other towns of the state and drive down to the Bangladesh border to sell them to the gang.

Once the bikes reach Bangladesh, some operatives and mechanics remove the engines for use in motorboats.

The growing incidents of bike lifting in different parts of the state has lent credence to the suspicion that there is a thriving nexus between the border criminals in Assam and those in Bangladesh, who are engaged in the smuggling of bikes.

A senior official of the Border Security force (BSF) here said the smugglers remove the engine of the bike and send it to Bangladesh in some stone carrying trucks.

"The engines with good mileage come in handy for making mechanized boots. The engines of Pulsar can be easily fixed to motorboats. The engines of Pulsar consume less petrol," he also said.

"It appears that there is an organised gang of vehicle-lifters in Assam that has access to Bangladesh," a BSF official added.

Also Read: Indian Envoy: India to Issue Tourist Visa to Bangladeshis From 15 Nov

Also watch: