New Delhi, Nov 17 : In a successful operation, a Delhi Police team arrested a bicycle thief and recovered 16 stolen bicycles, officials said on Monday.

During the investigation, more than 300 CCTV cameras from areas near the theft sites were examined, and local informers were activated. Both technical and manual intelligence inputs were collected to trace the culprits. The bicycle thief was previously involved in four criminal cases.

According to a statement released by the Dwarka South Police Station, the officers became more concerned after the recent rise in bicycle thefts in the Dwarka South area. Recognising that for many residents a bicycle is an essential possession, the police resolved to identify the offender and restore the stolen bicycles to their rightful owners.

A dedicated team was constituted by Inspector Rajesh Kumar Sah (SHO, Dwarka South), under the close supervision of ACP Dwarka, Kishor Kumar Rewala. The team included HC Sudhir Kumar (987/DW), HC Manoj Kumar (828/DW), HC Gaje Singh (1030/DW), HC Surender (764/DW), and Ct. Tushar Yadav (1803/DW).

On October 28, at around 7:00 p.m., HC Manoj received secret information that the thief would arrive near DDA Park or Bhains Wala Park within a few minutes. He immediately alerted the team, and the officers reached the location and laid a trap near Bhains Wala Park.

After some time, a man was spotted riding a bicycle from the direction of Ganpati Chowk towards Bhains Wala Park. His behaviour appeared suspicious, and the police signalled for him to stop. Instead of complying, he attempted to flee towards DDA Park, Dwarka Sector 7, abandoning the bicycle.

The team chased and apprehended him. Upon inspection, the bicycle matched the description of one reported stolen in e-FIR 80101951/2025, registered under Section 303(2) BNS at Dwarka South Police Station.

During interrogation, the accused confessed that he had stolen the bicycle from Ramphal Chowk Road, in front of Instyle Salon, Sector 7, Dwarka. He further revealed that he had stolen several other bicycles. Based on his disclosures, the police recovered 15 additional bicycles from different locations after sustained effort.

/IANS