“Catenary copper wire weighing 52 kg (76 meters), ₹5600 cash, a Bajaj Pulsar motorcycle, and tools were seized from the suspects.”
Raigarh. (08:04): The railway line expansion project in the Gharghoda-Dharamjaygarh area has been marred by incidents of copper catenary electricity wire thefts along the tracks. Superintendent of Police Divyang Kumar Patel notified SDOP Dharamjaygarh Siddhant Tiwari and Gharghoda police station in-charge about these recurring thefts. Inspector Amit Kumar Tiwari was promptly directed to crack down on the thefts and apprehend the culprits. The police station in-charge initiated the process of gathering information by activating informants to aid in the investigation.
Yesterday, acting on information provided by an informant, Gharghoda police apprehended four suspicious individuals near village Muskura Jungle Chowk Para. Upon interrogation, identified as Shashi Bhushan Bairagi alias Chhotu, Haridas Bairagi alias Babu, Jageshwar Rathiya alias Jaggu, and Lakhan Rathiya, confessed to multiple thefts of copper catenary wire along the railway track within the Gharghoda police station area. Seven such incidents have been reported since January, including thefts from locals Rahul Sharma and Raja Pushti, who were also implicated in the crimes.
According to their statements, the accused planned and executed thefts in various locations, including Barkaspali, resulting in stolen wire weighing approximately 300 kg. They sold the stolen copper to scrap buyers, earning ₹70,000 and ₹80,000, which they divided among themselves. Additionally, they admitted to selling portions of the stolen wire to Rahul Sharma and Raja Pushti.
The arrested individuals face charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Railway Property Act related to copper wire theft. They are currently in judicial custody.
The confiscated items include a hex cutter, railway goods valued at ₹51,730, a Bajaj Pulsar 150 cc motorcycle (registration number CG-13-AR-0215) worth ₹60,000, and ₹5,600 in cash, totaling ₹1,17,330.
The modus operandi involved using a saw blade attached to a bamboo stick to cut the copper wire from the tracks. Inspector Amit Kumar Tiwari, Sub Inspector Karmu Sai Pankra, Head Constable Parasmani Behera, Constables Harish Patel, Rakesh Rathore, Kishore Rathore, and Cyber Cell staff played crucial roles in the investigation and apprehension of the accused.
