Mysuru: The menace of bike-lifters in city has increased and just in a month, more than 20 bikes have been stolen.

In the month of January, five bikes each in the Police Station limits of Vijayanagar, Nazarbad, and NR, two  bikes each in Devaraja and Mandi Police Station and one each in V.V. Puram, Lashkar, Ashokapuram, Jayalakshmipuram and KR Police Stations have been stolen and complaints registered.

It looks like it has become a common phenomenon in the city to see bikes being stolen. In the night, bikes parked in front of the houses after being locked will not be found at dawn. By the time one goes inside and comes out after parking the bike in front of hospital, it will have disappeared. The same is the situation when one parks it in front of a shop and goes to a nearby shop and returns. There are such dangerous thieves lurking all the time to deftly unlock the bike and ride them away.

Most of the times it is also due to the negligence of the two-wheeler riders themselves as they leave the scooters and motorbikes parked in a hurry with the key in the ignition lock. A few do not lock the handle-lock. This is the reason for several two-wheelers being stolen from K.R. Hospital and Cheluvamba Hospital premises.

Though the Police try to create awareness among public it has not helped. While parking the vehicles, the bike riders should be careful to lock the bikes and also take care to see that the handle locks are locked. Apart from this, it would also be a good idea to have separate locks for the wheels. Care should also be taken to see while duplicate keys are getting done or the vehicles are left for repairs. If such precautionary measures are taken, bike thefts could be avoided, said Police sources.