Ghaziabad: Gang that stole equipment and supplies from RRTS project sites nabbed

Senior officers said as part of the modus operandi, the gang members would reach project sites around 1am and would haul themselves up to the tracks using a rope tethered to a stone and make off with electric cables

The crime branch of the Ghaziabad police on Tuesday arrested nine persons -- six members of a gang that stole equipment from the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project and three scrap dealers to whom they sold the loot.

The police said the suspects were arrested during a crackdown near Vasundhara underpass and three of them are scrap dealers who bought the stolen goods from the gang (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The police said the suspects were arrested during a police crackdown near Vasundhara underpass and identified as Mohammad Sameer, 20, Rizwan, 19, Nisar Ali, 26, Shahadat Ali, 19, Shamsher Murtaza, 24 and Mohammad Majid, 20, while three scrap dealers were identified as Brijesh Kumar Munde, 45, Mohammad Shahzad, 30, and Subodh Kumar, 43.

“This is an interstate gang and mostly targeted electric cables kept for the RRTS project. On August 10, 2023, we arrested 10 members of the same gang. The nine suspects we arrested on Tuesday include three scrap dealers, two of whom are from Delhi and one from Sahibabad in Ghaziabad. The gang targeted the RRTS project sites late at night and would flee with the electric cables. Later, they would sell these to scrap dealers,” said Sacchidanand, additional deputy commissioner of police, crime branch.

Senior officers said as part of the modus operandi, the gang members would reach project sites around 1am and would haul themselves up to the tracks using a rope tethered to a stone and hooking the thick rope with the stone to the grilles of the elevated section.

“Later, they would climb up one by one and cut the cables using wire cutters. This would lead to a short circuit. Then, they would collect these cut cables and flee the spot after climbing down the rope,” ADCP added.

The police said six members of the gang have about 45 different cases against their names in Ghaziabad, Delhi and Haryana.

The police recovered five bundles of stolen cables, copper wires, wire cutting equipment and illegal arms from the possession of the suspects.

The 82km long under-construction RRTS project is aimed to connect Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut. Its 17km section is presently operational in Ghaziabad while trial runs are on for another 25km section from Duhai in Ghaziabad to Meerut (south).