Mumbai News: Shocking Incident as Thieves Dig Up Footpath Posing as Maintenance Workers
Mumbai News: Shocking Incident as Thieves Dig Up Footpath Posing as Maintenance Workers
Mumbai police have apprehended six thieves responsible for excavating a nearly 200-metre segment of road and footpath along Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Road, spanning from Dadar TT Circle to Maheshwari Udyan.
12th June 2024
Residents of Dadar T T Circle in Mumbai observed a section of road and footpath being excavated by individuals presumed to be contractors and BMC staff for pre-monsoon maintenance. However, to their astonishment, the activity was not authorised by the BMC; instead, it was discovered to be the work of a group of thieves.
Mumbai police have apprehended six thieves responsible for excavating a nearly 200-metre segment of road and footpath along Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Road, spanning from Dadar TT Circle to Maheshwari Udyan. Their objective was to pilfer copper wire from the underground telephone cables owned by Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL).
The thieves strategically placed barricades and signage indicating ongoing civic work by the BMC to ensure the smooth execution of their theft without any disruptions, as per the police.
The theft took place last month, and the perpetrators chose to conduct the digging exclusively during nighttime to evade suspicion. They opted for manual excavation using basic tools like a hoe and spade, abstaining from the use of machinery. The incident came to light only after MTNL began receiving numerous complaints from customers regarding the malfunctioning of their landline phones.
Upon investigation by MTNL employees, they were astounded to find that approximately a 200-metre section of road and footpath had been excavated, with the underground copper phone transmission cables missing. A police officer stated that the stolen copper cables were valued at Rs 6.80 lakh. Subsequently, MTNL officials lodged a complaint with the Matunga police on 31st May.
Under the direction of his superiors, Senior Inspector Deepak Chavan of the Matunga police instructed Sub-Inspector Santosh Mali and his team to conduct an investigation into the matter. Mali’s team meticulously reviewed footage from CCTV cameras installed in both residential and commercial properties along the excavated road. With the aid of human intelligence, they successfully identified and apprehended the six suspects on various days over the past week.
The individuals implicated in the crime are named as Manish Maganlal Jain, Nikku Chanilal Gupta, Naresh Gopal Ahire, Mahesh Mallesh Budamula, Ashok Ramesh Suryavanshi and Kailas Devdutt Jadhav.
PSI Mali stated, “The suspects had disposed of the stolen cables, but we managed to recover the copper from them. Additionally, we confiscated 184 kg of stolen copper.” Subsequently, a local court on Monday extended the accused’s police custody until 16th June.
