Bhubaneswar, June 20: Police have started an intensive drive to check theft of motorbikes in the city. The cops are conducting raids to nab those involved in such crimes.

A senior police officer said the city police had made a list of around 200 criminals involved in motorbike thefts.

Cases of bike theft have flooded police stations in the past few months. Statistics show that in the first five months of this year, the twin cities witnessed 838 thefts of which there were many cases of motorcycle theft.

Most of these vehicles were stolen from parking lots. Some were also lifted while parked outside homes and offices. In some cases, the thieves attacked people and made away with their vehicles.

Officials said the crime has continued despite repeated raids and seizures in the past.

“This time, we plan to raid their hideouts within the state and also in states such as Bihar, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, where they have partners,” said an official.

There are allegations that police often refuse to register bike thefts.

But the police said they were instructed to keep the number of motorcycle thefts under check, register complaints and try to recover the stolen vehicles.

However, they have failed to give the number of motorcycle theft complaints lodged and bikes seized.