As cops arrest man for stealing 26 manhole covers, BMC struggles to keep thieves at bay

A 29-year-old man has been arrested in Mumbai for allegedly stealing 26 manhole covers belonging to the city's Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and selling them to a scrap dealer. The BMC has been faced with a spate of such thefts over the past few years, which has become particularly concerning during the monsoon season when gaping manholes can lead to fatalities. The corporation has announced that "strict action" will be taken against offenders, and has warned scrap dealers they will also face legal action if they purchase stolen goods.

MUMBAI: On Tuesday, the MHB Colony police arrested a 29-year-old man for allegedly stealing 26 manhole covers installed by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and selling them to a scrap dealer.

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Senior inspector of MHB Colony police station, Sudhir Kudalkar, said they had received a complaint on June 20 from the R Central ward that a manhole cover with ‘MCGM’ embossed on it was stolen from a spot near Shanti Daan Ashram bus depot, in Borivali West. A case of theft was registered against an unidentified person following which police scanned CCTV footages to spot the robber. Aided by the recording and inputs from informers, police identified the robber as Kamlesh alias Bunty Solanki, a driver by profession and resident of Ganpat Patil Nagar in Borivali West, and arrested him.

On questioning, Solanki revealed he had robbed at least 26 manhole covers between Borivali and Dahisar and sold them for ₹9,500 to a scrap dealer. The accused, Abdul Gali Mohammed Nazir, 51, was tracked down in Dahisar and arrested.

“We have arrested the two and recovered 16 out of 26 stolen properties from them,” said Kudalkar, adding police are trying find where Nazir had sold the lot and how much money he had earned. They suspect others may have been involved in similar thefts across the city.

BMC’s many challenges

The arrest might bolster BMC’s optimism of others who are similarly guilty, being nabbed in the future. The civic body has been plagued by such thefts over the last three years (see box), which becomes a concern during the monsoons as gaping manholes often lead to fatalities.

Recently, the Bombay High Court (HC) directed corporation to ensure that there are no mishaps this season from open manholes – this is one of its biggest challenges for BMC as manhole covers and grilles of storm water drains (SWDs) are known to be habitually stolen. The civic body has been able to do little to curb the menace.

On June 26, however, it announced “strict action” would be taken against the offenders and FIRs registered under various sections of the IPC. The corporation also warned scrap dealers about the long arm of law bringing them in its fold if they were found purchasing the stolen goods.

The civic body’s missive is akin to a similar one issued by the railways. A senior official from BMC said, “The railways have been pushing for stringent FIRs because the dangers are more serious. Hence, their complaints also bear gravitas. They have set an example and we need to do follow suit.”

Rajesh Akre, assistant commissioner, P South Ward said police need to take action on BMC’s letters so that an example can be set and thieves may think twice before acting. “There are gangs involved in stealing the manhole covers, who use their own vehicles. In the past, we had also put up banners across the ward asking citizens to inform us about such incidents.”

Another official continued on Akre’s line of thought and said that thieves are known to arrive in autorickshaws at various spots. “Some of them have their own foundry where they melt the metal to create something else before selling the goods.”

An officer from the sewerage operations department said such acts are regular in the suburbs and the civic body has published such information through various newspapers, asking citizens to report miscreants. He added that it is difficult to have an alternative to metal covers as “they are designed to be heavy and hence metal is suitable as it needs to take the load of traffic”.

“In case the sewer overflows, the weight will ensure that the lid does not pop by the pressure,” he added.

Apart from manhole covers, BMC faces an added challenge of covers being opened by residents during floods so that excess water can drain out. On June 19, following HC’s orders, senior officials held a meeting to decide how this malaise could be curbed. “Storm water drain has limited capacity (to drain water). Therefore, there is waterlogging during heavy rainfall in flood-prone areas. Under such situations people open manhole covers, which lead to accidents,” the civic body had said in a notice.

The way forward

BMC has now decided to fix missing manhole covers and frames within 12 hours of identification. Periodic visits have been mandated at every ward to ensure no manhole is open. An official from the K East ward said, “This is going to be a big task. The covers are mainly stolen from bylanes and small roads. Even CCTV coverage in the areas have failed to prevent thefts which mostly take place between 3 am to 6 am.”

He added, the civic body has planned joint operations with the police and there will be regular patrolling. “A lot of times citizens don’t report open manholes, not wanting to be involved in the FIR process. We will ask them to inform us on our helpline so that we can follow through,” he said.

A scrap dealer, requesting anonymity, said, “The rate of the metal depends on its quality, and the price ranges between ₹50 to ₹100 per kg. There is no law which prevents us from buying these materials. Small scrap dealers buy the metal easily.”

The issue of SWDs

Many SWDs have metal grilles at its entrances to prevent garbage from entering the channel. But the grilles are also stolen frequently. On Tuesday, Nitin Thakker, a member of the citizen welfare forum, MNCDF, took to Twitter and tagged the H West ward highlighting the issue occurring repeatedly in the Khar West area.

“They are stolen overnight – I have seen this over the past five days. Today I saw fresh grilles gone – they pose dangers to bikers and pedestrians, particularly during waterlogging,” he said. “Why is this not investigated, despite CCTV coverage in the area?”

Vinayak Vispute, assistant commissioner of H West ward did not respond to HT’s request for a comment, but another senior BMC official explained: “The grilles on smaller SWDs are usually stolen by drug addicts. They are broken into pieces and sold to scrap dealers for a low price. We replace those once we receive complaints.”