Mumbai: Police trace man behind drag racing on Western Express Highway

The seized bikes at Kherwadi police station. Pic/Shadab Khan

The police have traced the man behind the drag racing on Western Express Highway (WEH) and are looking for the Bandra Reclamation resident, who is at large. Scores of young bikers had gathered for motorcycle drag racing on WEH on the intervening nights of Monday and Tuesday to set a record and win a cash prize, as mentioned on an Instagram post, but Mumbai police foiled their plans.

The races were scheduled within stretches of 400 metres at different locations, Joint Commissioner of Police (Law & Order) Satyanarayan Chaudhary told mid-day. "A page was created on Instagram for participating in bike racing within the stretches of 400-metres. Since it was decided that these bikers will race on 400 metres patches on WEH, they had gathered near Bandra Reclamation. The race was supposed to take place between Bandra and Goregaon," Chaudhary told mid-day.

"The mastermind of this race is Muksid Abdul Hamid who was putting up the bets for the race. The bet amount was around Rs 50,000. He is a resident of Bandra Reclamation. We are searching for him," Chaudhary added. The other key person involved in this bet-laden motorcycle drag race is Sajid who was arrested by Kherwadi police on Tuesday.

Also Read: Mumbai: Trapped and caught racing on WEH, 82 face gambling charge

The 72 arrested bikers were let off on Rs 10,000 surety later. Pic/Shadab Khan

"Since money was involved in this illegal race, we invoked the Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act besides booking the bike racers under IPC and the Motor Vehicle Act," he added. The investigators are trying to retrieve the details of the money trail in this motorcycle drag race. Sources told mid-day that many other people are involved in this illegal bike racing gang that creates a nuisance by vrooming bikes at full throttle to win the cash prize.

Many arrests

In one of the major crackdowns on late-night bike racing, 72 people were arrested while 10 minors were detained and 48 motorcycles and scooters seized by Kherwadi police. It was for the first time that Mumbai police invoked the Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act in the case. On WEH motorcyclists choose selective areas near Bandra to perform stunts to win cash prizes. The racers get their silencers either modified or removed, which causes ear-splitting noise in the night.

Cops act

The police launched the operation on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday. They laid a trap on the WEH between Kherwadi junction and Milan Subway. Once the racers entered the trap, the cops shut both the ends. A large number of policemen were deployed for the operation.

Mumbai's bike races operate within a limited circuit. The races take place when one group challenges another. After agreeing on the category of a race, they fix a time, place and the cash prize. A drag race takes place in the late or wee hours so as to find an empty patch of road.

The bike racers come from different locations of Mumbai. Bikers increase the engine capacity on the sly through something called porting. When the bikes are ported, the fuel is sucked into the engine in a rush, boosting the velocity. Indian bikes that max out at a 125 kmph notch up to 220 kmph after porting. One wrong move on these speed monsters will send riders flying, screeching, tumbling to death, or if they are lucky, to a hospital.

72
No of people arrested for racing