A man was arrested on Saturday near Akashvani in central Calcutta for riding a motorcycle that was reportedly stolen from Odisha.

Police said officers of the traffic department spotted a two-wheeler with an Odisha number plate and found the man to be moving suspiciously.

“The traffic police personnel stopped the vehicle and checked the documents. When asked about the Odisha number plate, the rider failed to provide a satisfactory response,” said an officer of Hare Street police station.

The police said the man, identified as Bishal Mahato, was questioned for several hours. Later, officers of Kolkata Police checked with their counterparts in Odisha and sought the details of the vehicle.

“It was found that the vehicle with the same registration number had been stolen from Odisha,” said a senior officer of the central division of Kolkata Police.

“The two-wheeler was moving suspiciously, which prompted officers to intercept it,” said the officer.

A formal case has been started. However, cops said it was yet to be ascertained whether the bike was directly stolen and smuggled to Bengal by Mahato or if he was just a middleman .