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126 arrested for theft of 4G,5G infra in Punjab
As many as 17 persons were arrested on Monday, and 140 FIRs have been registered across the state. The enforcement has averted widespread disruption of essential public telecom services, police added.
The Punjab Police has arrested 126 individuals in a crackdown on the theft of critical 4G and 5G telecom infrastructure targeting Bharti Airtel Limited, officials said.
As many as 17 persons were arrested on Monday, and 140 FIRs have been registered across the state. The enforcement has averted widespread disruption of essential public telecom services, police added.
Following the reports of thefts involving high-value 4G/5G infrastructure, a special investigation team (SIT) was constituted on the orders of director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav.
The SIT, headed by inspector general of police (IGP) Rajpal Singh Sandhu, worked in close coordination with district police units to apprehend the accused and make massive recoveries of stolen equipment.
Providing details, Sandhu said that the accused specifically targeted high-value GUC1 Cards (Base Band Units), which are critical for the transmission of 4G and 5G signals. “The entire theft operation was executed in under two minutes, after which the culprits fled the scene,” he said. These thefts had caused significant disruptions to telecom services in affected areas, depriving the public of essential voice and data connectivity.
Using a combination of technical surveillance and human intelligence, Punjab Police has successfully dismantled the networks involved in these thefts, said the IGP, while adding, “Further investigation is underway to trace both forward and backward linkages and unravel the entire criminal network.”
