7 held for posing as civic workers to steal MTNL cables

Police said the accused were caught near Berkley Palace on Sir Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy Road. They had allegedly used a JCB excavator to dig up the road and had already removed around 70 metres of underground copper cable, which was loaded into a tempo.

MUMBAI: The police arrested seven persons and busted an alleged MTNL cable theft racket in the early hours of Tuesday after catching the accused digging up a road in south Mumbai while posing as civic workers.

(Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

Police said the accused were caught near Berkley Palace on Sir Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy Road. They had allegedly used a JCB excavator to dig up the road and had already removed around 70 metres of underground copper cable, which was loaded into a tempo. The group had also brought a Honda City car to the spot and were wearing reflective jackets to pass themselves off as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) contract workers.

“We acted on a tip-off and raided the spot. During the operation, we found that the accused were posing as MTNL employees while stealing underground copper cables. Just two days ago, we had arrested three persons for a similar offence. Two of their associates escaped with a tempo carrying stolen cables and are still being traced,” said Manish Kalwaniya, deputy commissioner of police (Zone I).

Kalwaniya said that on August 2, police had arrested Mohammad Sarvar Ansari, 35, Asif Dildar Sayyad, 27, and Azam Qureshi, 34, all residents of Dongri, while they were allegedly stealing MTNL cables by illegally excavating roads. Their associates remain absconding.

Following Tuesday’s tip-off, a police team reached the spot before the accused could flee. Investigators said the group had blocked traffic in the early hours, dug up the road, removed the copper cables and loaded them into the tempo. They were preparing to leave when the police intercepted them.

“We seized the JCB, the Honda City, the tempo and 70 metres of copper cable valued at approximately ₹55 lakh,” Kalwaniya said.

The arrested accused have been identified as Salman Ansari, 23, of Sewri; Suffiyan Qureshi, 25, of Girgaon; Junaid Ahmed, 26, of Dongri; and Mohammad Bablu Shaikh, 38, of Sewri. Police said three others were also arrested in the operation.

An FIR has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for theft.

“We are trying to trace the kingpins for whom the accused allegedly worked. The stolen cables are melted down in isolated locations and the copper is later sold in the market,” a police officer said.

According to the police, MTNL has an extensive underground network of copper cables worth around ₹5,000 crore. Several gangs involved in cable theft have been busted in recent months, and in some cases MTNL employees have also been arrested for their alleged role in the conspiracy.