Hyderabad: Police arrested three members of a gang accused of transformer copper theft in Kamareddy and Medak districts. The gang allegedly stole copper coils from 52 transformers.
Police recovered 30 kg of copper wire, a vehicle and several tools from the accused. The gang allegedly targeted 29 transformers in Kamareddy and 23 in Medak.
Investigators also linked the accused to an attempt-to-murder case and a night-time house burglary. Police said the thefts occurred over the past five months.
Kamareddy Superintendent of Police M. Rajesh Chandra disclosed the details at a media conference at the district police office on Friday.
The thefts occurred on the outskirts of Baswapur, Bhiknoor, Gurjakunta, Rameshwarapalli, Jangampalli and Ryagatlapalli villages. Several other villages under Rajampet police station limits were also affected.
Transco Assistant Engineer Jadhav Balaji lodged complaints over the thefts. Police registered cases at Bhiknoor and Rajampet police stations and began an investigation.
Transformer copper theft probe uncovered the gang’s wider activities
Police said Assistant Lineman Prabhakar confronted unidentified persons attempting to steal a transformer near Rameshwarapalli. The suspects allegedly attacked him during the incident.
Bhiknoor police registered an attempt-to-murder case on September 9 based on Prabhakar’s complaint.
SP Rajesh Chandra directed police to form four special teams. DSP S. Madhusudhan supervised the investigation.
Bhiknoor CI J. Naresh, CCS CI B. Santosh Kumar, Bhiknoor SI S. Anil and CCS SI Mahesh led the teams.
The teams examined CCTV footage and technical evidence. They also analysed other information to identify the suspects.
Police tracked the suspects on September 11 when they allegedly attempted another transformer theft in Bhiknoor mandal. Officers intercepted three suspects near Parivaar Hotel.
During questioning, police found that four accused were brothers. Investigators said they had formed a gang and carried out the thefts together.
Police said the gang conducted reconnaissance around village outskirts during the day. They allegedly stole transformers and electrical equipment at night.
The accused then allegedly sold the copper coils. Police said they used the proceeds for leisure activities and online betting.
Investigators also found that the accused had faced theft cases earlier. Police said they had served jail terms before returning to similar offences.
Police identified the arrested accused as Baljeer Singh, Roop Singh and Lakan. Another accused remained absconding.
Special police teams were searching for the fourth accused. The three arrested men would be produced before a court, the SP said.
Police recovered a Yamaha FZ vehicle, a mobile phone, nine blades, a cutting plier and a cutter. They also seized nine spanners, 10 ring spanners, three rods and 30 kg of copper wire.
SP Rajesh Chandra appreciated the officers and personnel who worked on the case. The police investigation into the thefts continued with the search for the absconding accused.