Sambalpur: With the arrest of 10 persons and the seizure of over a 1,000 mobile tower batteries, police Wednesday claimed to have busted a battery theft racket which had been operating in various districts of the state over last five years.
The cost of the seized batteries has been estimated at Rs 60 lakh, superintendent of police Akhileswar Singh told the media during a press meet here. Two Mahindra Boleros were also seized from the accused, he added.
The accused were identified as Kusha Swain (25), Kalia Swain (26), Anil Nayak (20), Rudhei Nayak (23) alias Rohit, Prashant Kumar Sahoo (35) of Boinda, Kalindi Majhi (26) of Sulanda under Handapa police limits and Raju Sahoo alias Rajendra (19) of Kushkila under Jharapada police limits in Angul. Other accused were Shyamsundar Dash (28) of Bishnupur Shasan, Bidush Rout (32) alias Manas of Rajuapatna under Dhenkanal Sadar police limits and Abhay Behera (55) of Housing Board Colony under Town police limits.
Nine cases were registered against them in Jujumura, Naktideula, Dhama, Kisinda, Rairakhol and Jamankira police stations. The accused were produced in a court and remanded in judicial custody. Five more members of the racket are absconding, police said.
According to police, the accused used to decamp with batteries of various mobile towers in Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Angul, Cuttack, Bargarh, Bolangir, Subarnapur, Boudh, Sambalpur and Sundargarh districts after beating up the security guards. They sold the batteries to Bidush and Abhay. More than 30 cases of theft and loot were registered at various police stations in these districts.
The district police formed a special squad under the leadership of the SP. The team conducted raids on various hideouts and managed to seize the batteries besides making the arrests.
The accused managed to collect about 48 batteries from each tower by unscrewing them within 30 to 45 minutes, SP said. Others would be held soon, he added. PNN