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Dubai community rejoices as cops nab bicycle thief

Dubai - Tyagi informed the Dubai Police who reached her place and took all the information, including a CCTV footage.

Residents of Dubai’s Al Furjan community are hailing the police as heroes — after the ‘bike thief’ in their neighbourhood was finally arrested. But, the truth is, the entire community’s effort had helped put an end to the crime.

It all started when one vigilant member of the community’s Facebook group registered a police report after hearing about a spate of bike thefts in their area. The Dubai Police swung into action and was able to apprehend the suspect, thanks to the CCTV footage captured by the complainant’s cameras.

Ambika Tyagi was browsing through her community’s page when she noticed that a number of residents have spoken about their new bikes being stolen from right outside their doors.

“It was only after I read those messages that I realised I had not checked on my husband’s bike that was kept in our driveway for a few days,” Tyagi said.

“My husband’s mother had gifted him a new bicycle in December on his birthday and he would ride it daily. But since he had gone to India on January 30 this year, I had not checked on his bike until February 5 when I read those messages on the community group. To my utter horror, I found his bike missing. It didn’t have a lock on it as it was kept next to our cars, right outside our door.”

After checking the CCTV footage, Tyagi was able to spot the image of the thief who can be seen confidently walking into the driveway of the villa with a torch at 10.30pm at night. He slowly lifted the bike and sneaked out.

Tyagi informed the Dubai Police who reached her place in half an hour and took all the information, including the CCTV footage. “It was my first interaction with the Dubai Police and I was amazed at their agility and confidence as the officers reassured me that they will catch the culprit soon and that I need not worry,” she told Khaleej Times.

It was not the loss of the bike that troubled her but “the sense of insecurity”, she said. “I have young kids at home and the thought of a robber breaking in was scary to me and my kids, too. So in order to dispel their fear, we can tell them that if any untoward happening takes place, we have the police here to take care of the issue and keep us safe.”

The Dubai Police officers on the case found Tyagi’s stolen bike’s picture online, and someone was trying to sell it.

The officials disguised as potential buyers, contacted the person who posted the ad, and apprehended him with the bike.

During investigation, the thief revealed he had stolen more bikes from the community, which the officers recovered from him and returned to their owners.

Another resident who got her bicycle back was Hamida A. She posted a picture of her bike on the group saying: “Our bicycle that was stolen on January 31 is back home…Unbelievable work done by Dubai Police and CID…we are extremely thankful to them…kudos to them for doing their job so promptly and professionally. I would suggest all to keep a lock on their cycles and install CCTV cameras for our own safety.”

Expressing her happiness, Tyagi said: “We were so impressed with the efficiency and intelligence of the Dubai Police as they managed to apprehend the thief in just a matter of three or four days and helped solve a problem our community has been facing for several months now…I was happy as I broke the news on our community group and so many people benefitted out of this one complaint.

“But what I am most happy about is the effect it had on my kids who are six and eight years old. They were so happy, proud and confident after getting the bike back.”

Tyagi added that it is important to report such matters to the authorities as catching the offender would discourage others from doing such crimes.

saman@khaleejtimes.com