No crime cycle can last forever

Some crimes are more lurid and headline-grabbing than others; stealing bicycles is not one of them. However, even a casual perusal of news from round the world will prove that it is probably the most prevalent of transportation vehicle crimes.

Car pilferers, like art or jewel thieves, have a certain cachet, and even a lifestyle quotient; but purloiners of the humble cycle — the preferred mode of transport for as many people, if not more — have no such snob value.

Which is why the arrest in Chennai this week of arguably one of the most successful bicycle thieves ever, has not got the publicity it deserves. Not only was this loader at a local market caught with an astounding 50 stolen bicycles, it has been revealed that his nefarious career has probably spanned over 25 years.

Even allowing for the possibility that he may have been a slow starter, he has potentially stolen, repainted and fenced over 10,000 cycles.

His disciplined approach to his chosen crime — only stealing cycles of students parked on the road and always selling them for Rs 500 — that allowed him to operate undetected for so long needs to be admired, though not condoned. Maybe he got careless with time, so someone noticed him repeatedly arriving at a place on foot and departing on a bicycle and informed the police. It could be called the cycle of life.