When Aamir Khan performed the motorcycle stunts in Ghulam, he was hardly aware that he would inspire thousands of rowdy bikers to take on the roads in Patna.

The city, which a few years back was known the world over for derelict roads, can now boast of smooth thoroughfares. But the development has also given birth to biker gangs, which till now were confined to big cities and screen thrillers.

These gangs are now a problem for police, who feel that the bikers are not only speeding on the roads to thrill but are also branching out in the world of crime.

At least four gangs, the members of which are financially well-off, are at present running amok in the capital.

The city witnessed a shocking incident on February 12 midnight when one such biker, Vinay Singh, was shot dead in his SUV in the Boring Canal Road area. The 25-year-old has been named the leader of Rockezers, a biker gang of “upper-class Bhumihars”.

“We have information that there are more than 50 people in the gang, including a woman, who is a drug addict. Most of the members are students. Some of them have Facebook accounts. Most of them are spoilt children of politicians, bureaucrats and senior officers. The members have designer bikes and draw inspiration from films like Ghulam. However, these gangs are being lured into different forms of crimes for money,” said deputy superintendent of police (Sachivalaya) Manish Kumar.

In Vikram Bhatt’s Ghulam (1998), Aamir Khan performs a stunt, where he zooms across the roads of Mumbai in a race against his rival biker gang.

However, it is not only Rockezers that’s kicking up a storm in the city. A similar biker group, notorious as Strikers, exists in Patna. This often leads to territorial fights.

“Vinay of Rockezers was into land-grabbing. According to instructions from those in the business, the entire gang used to go and beat up the landowners and forcibly evict them. During one such assignment, the Rockezers developed enmity with the Strikers. This led to Vinay’s murder. The aim is to nab the Strikers first and then nail the Rockezers. The Strikers, too, operate in the same way like the Rockezers, but the Strikers come from the backward caste,” the officer said.