HYDERABAD: ‘’They’ve gone. Let’s meet.’’ Mobile phones and social networking chat rooms crackle with messages like these past midnight. Hyderabad’s nocturnal bike racers get ready for a weekly adrenalin rush.But the police have been watchful lately. So the young racers watch the cops. Said one police officer, ``We patrol roads where racing is rampant until 2 am. But they keep a watch on us.’’ One member of the gang is sent out to do a recce. He sends an all-clear message on his mobile and the bikers gear up in minutes to assemble at the designated spot.Bike racers have shifted their activity to the Outer Ring Road and other parts of the city after the police started to crack down on speeding in Jubilee Hills. ``Apart from the presence of traffic and law and order police on racing roads like Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills and KBR Park, installation of surveillance cameras has acted as a deterrent to the racers,’’ the officer said.Police say racing activity has now spread to areas where the vigil is less. ``The Nalgonda flyover has now turned into a race track for bikers,’’ said the officer.Police say there are two different types of gangs active in nocturnal racing. ``One gang comprises of kids of influential people while the other are from the Old City, mainly the youth of Barkas,’’ an officer said.There is betting too. The stakes range from a few thousand of rupees to lakhs sometimes. ``It is a fact that there have been several accidents on the Outer Ring Road during such races. The sons or close relatives of some influential people were involved in such accidents and they use their clout to ensure that cases are not registered against them,” the officer admitted.
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