BENGALURU: Two thieves, who had stolen a borewell pipe in Ramamurthy Nagar on Saturday, were caught on Sunday, thanks to CCTV cameras and the efforts of local residents.
Three weeks ago, a BBMP contractor had removed the motor and the long pipe of a malfunctioning borewell in the area. He had kept the pipe in the open and taken the motor for repairs. The thieves, who had come on a bike, took the pipe away and sold it to a scrap dealer, but were caught soon enough. Kochu Shankar, a member of the Trinity Enclave Residents Association, said this borewell stopped working three weeks ago.
“It supplied water to nearly 100 families and was our main water source. The BBMP contractor had removed a 15 ft pipe and left it out. It has been three weeks and he has not returned. We are struggling for water,” he said. The two thieves came to the area around 5.30 pm when most residents were at the playground.
Siddaiah, the Enclave president, realised the pipe was missing within an hour of the theft. He alerted the residents who examined the CCTV footage. “We filed a complaint. Residents fanned out to scrap shops. We visited our neighbouring area, NRI Layout, and saw our pipe lying there in a few pieces. The owner confessed that he had bought it for Rs 3,000, paid half the sum and had told the thieves that the remaining would be paid on Sunday.”
Five association members went in the evening to the shop and lay in wait. They caught the duo when they came to collect the rest of the amount. “We called up the police and the cops reached within 40 minutes. The police took them both away,” Shankar added.