Nagpur: In a major breakthrough against organised theft, Unit 3 of the Nagpur Crime Branch has busted an interstate cable theft gang, solved two cable theft cases in Nagpur city, and taken into custody accused who were also wanted in two previous theft cases. The operation resulted in the seizure of stolen property and equipment collectively valued at ₹85.98 lakh.
According to police, the action helped detect two recent cable theft offences registered at Lakadganj Police Station and Ganeshpeth Police Station. The Lakadganj case was registered under Crime No. 346/2026 under Sections 303(2), 324(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) along with Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, while the Ganeshpeth case was registered under Crime No. 203/2026 under Section 303(2) of BNS.
During the investigation, Crime Branch officials identified and detained members of an alleged interstate gang operating from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Police also found that some of the detained accused were wanted in earlier theft cases registered at Sadar Police Station (Crime No. 586/2023)and Mankapur Police Station (Crime No. 291/2023) under Sections 379 and 34 of the IPC.
The arrested accused have been identified as Sartaj Shahid Hussain (37), Parvez Musa Khan (27), Mohammad Raja (22), Ajay Jagdish Kumar (23), Rajababu Bhurekhan Rahim (25), Dinesh Guman Rajak (20), Mithilesh Ram Bahadur Yadav (42), Balram Prempal Kashyap (35), and Akash Satyaprakash Kumar (20).
Police seized a substantial amount of property allegedly used in or connected to the thefts. The recovered items include a Hydra crane worth ₹40 lakh, an Eicher tempo worth ₹30 lakh, BSNL cable pieces valued at ₹15 lakh, and seven mobile phones along with tools and materials allegedly used for committing the thefts worth ₹98,500. The total value of seized property stands at ₹85.98 lakh.
According to officials, during questioning, the accused allegedly confessed to their involvement in the crimes. Following the recovery process and medical examination of the accused, all seized material along with the accused were handed over to Lakadganj Police Station for further legal proceedings.
The operation was carried out by Unit 3 of Nagpur Crime Branch with technical support from the Cyber Unit, and further investigation is underway to determine whether the gang has links to similar cable theft cases in other parts of the country.
