Kendrapara: A special squad of the district police busted a gang of bike-lifters with the arrest of its two key members.

The racket was busted during the course of helmet-checking drive. Shankar Nayak and Raj Kishore Mallik were intercepted for riding bikes without helmets. Later, their bike was found to be a stolen one.

On interrogation, it was found that they thrived on lifting motorcycles, said Kendrapara superintendent of police Dayanidhi Gochayat.

"A haul of eight motorbikes stolen by the duo was seized. Search is on to nab other members of the gang. We are hopeful of recovery of more stolen bikes," he said.

Cases of theft of over 50 motorbikes have been registered in police stations of the district since past six to eight months. In majority of these bike-lifting cases, the gang is suspected to be involved.

"Nearly a dozen of persons are either directly or indirectly involved with the bike-lifting gang. Manhunt is on to nab the suspected accused shortly," he said.

The police are also on the trail of another wing of the gang, which specialised in preparing fake registration papers and dispose of the bikes to buyers.

"Their modus operandi was simple. They used to keep tabs on the movement of the owners before breaking open the lock and fleeing with motorbikes. The owners, who are found in a hurried state of mind in places such as hospital and bus stand, mostly become their soft targets," a police officer said.

In another development, Paradip police have handed over 10 motorbikes to their lawful owners.

These bikes were recovered after a bike-lifting gang had been busted last month. A haul of 15 stolen motorcycles had been recovered then, the police said.