Jaipur, Aug 28 (PTI) Police in Rajasthan’s Sikar district have busted an interstate gang allegedly involved in the theft of high-tension power cables worth several crores, arresting 12 persons, officials said on Friday.
Sikar Superintendent of Police (SP) Praveen Nayak Nunawat said the arrestees have confessed to dozens of cable thefts in the Sadar Neem Ka Thana and Dabla police station areas.
The gang allegedly targeted high-tension lines being laid over a stretch of around 103 km under the Power Grid Vataman Transmission Ltd’s 765-KV D/C Sikar-II to Narela TL project, he said.
The stolen cables are estimated to be worth around Rs 5-6 crore, the SP said.
He further said some members of the gang are absconding and efforts are underway to arrest them.
The investigation began after four complaints were lodged regarding thefts of conductors, wires and other material from different locations.
On August 9, Deepankar Devnath, assistant manager of Skipper Ltd, lodged a complaint at Sadar Neem Ka Thana police station.
According to the complaint, material was stolen near Kairwali village on July 11, near Bandhala-Bhopalpur village on July 12, near Seduka Bas village on August 5 and from Mawanda Khurd village on August 6.
Police inspected the crime scenes and collected information about movement of suspects and alleged reconnaissance carried out before the thefts.
Police teams examined CCTV footage from the spots and routes used by the suspects. They also monitored suspicious activities and used technical analysis to identify members of the gang.
The arrestees have been identified as Dheeraj Bagadiya (26), Mohit Jakhar (20), Lokesh Mehrania (20), Vijay Kumar Mehrania (20), Sachin Kumar Saini (19), Deepak Meena (23), all residents of Neem Ka Thana, Rahul Yadav (21) of Khairthal-Tijara, Hanuman Meena alias Abhi (19) of Bundi, Jagdish Bawariya (38), Monu Jat and Himanshu Nayak (19) of Jhunjhunu, and Sunil Gurjar (24) of Sikar.
Police impounded two motorcycles, a pickup vehicle, a car and a Thar SUV allegedly used in the thefts. Two iPhones, which police said were purchased with proceeds of the cable thefts, were also recovered.
Police said further investigation is underway to determine how the stolen cables were disposed of, who helped the gang sell them and whether more people were involved.
Police are also investigating the gang’s possible involvement in other cases of high-tension cable theft, they added. PTI AG ARB ARB
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