3 arrested for stealing cable lines near Panvel station

Panvel Railway Police Force arrested three accused for stealing railway cable lines near Panvel station and disrupting the train services on harbour line on April 13; four of the five accused were involved in stealing while the other purchased the stolen property; two are absconding

Panvel Railway Police Force (RPF) arrested three accused for stealing railway cable lines near Panvel station and disrupting the train services on harbour line on April 13.

Panvel Railway Police Force arrested three accused for stealing railway cable lines near Panvel station and disrupting the train services on harbour line on April 13. (HT FILE PHOTO)

On April 13, the harbour line had to be suspended from 4am to 7am owing to failure of the signalling as some miscreants had disconnected the cable lines. The lines were restored by 7am and a case was registered with Panvel RPF. Police have identified five accused of which four were involved in stealing and one another for purchasing the stolen property.

With no CCTV in the said area, the police had no clue about the miscreants initially. During the course of investigation, they found a witness who had seen one of them in the area on the day of the incident in wee hours. The police then nabbed Akash Somnath Koli (23), a resident of Panvel. Koli was nabbed from Ambernath on Tuesday and he confessed to have committed the crime.

“Koli then revealed that three more had accompanied him in the crime. The four accused were drunkards and they stole the railway property to sell and earn money to buy alcohol,” senior police inspector Jasbeer Rana from Panvel RPF said.

According to what the railway officials informed the RPF, the stolen property amounted to ₹40,000. The other two accused who were arrested have been identified as Raes Lala Sayyed (21) and Sayyed Ahmed (38). Two more identified as Sunil Mochi and Anil Mochi are absconding. The accused Ahmed was the one who purchased the stolen property.