BENGALURU: Three interstate habitual offenders, who stole modules and copper cables from BSNL associated electric pillars by posing as BSNL staff, were arrested by the Yeshwanthapura police. Around 4140 modules and 66 metres of copper cable worth Rs seven lakh were recovered from the trio.
The accused, Ravi Chauhan (32) from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, Sandeep (23) from Thane, Maharashtra and Syed Javed Hasan (40) of Kalaburagi, Karnataka, had stolen the valuables after damaging the iron pillars installed for telephone, internet and LAN connections. A BSNL officer working in the Yeshwanthapura BSNL sub-division had filed a complaint on April 19.
Between April 17 and 19, they had stolen belongings of BSNL worth around Rs 2.39 lakh. The trio was apprehended at Mathikere in Yeshwanthpur. During interrogation they said that they operated both during the day and night using a car, wearing uniforms and helmets similar to BSNL staff.
They targeted roadside BSNL infrastructure in Mathikere, Yeshwanthpur, Malleswaram, and Sadashivanagar. They confessed that they were transporting the stolen property in a car to a railway station for sale. The police are on the lookout for another accused involved in the case.