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  • February 11, 2025
Delhi metro cable theft busted; 4 detained, 7 in hiding: police | Latest News Delhi

Delhi metro cable theft busted; 4 detained, 7 in hiding: police | Latest News Delhi

New Delhi Police have arrested four members of a gang of 11 involved in cable theft in the Delhi Metro, an official said on Wednesday.

Delhi metro cable theft busted; 4 detained, 7 in hiding: police
Delhi metro cable theft busted; 4 detained, 7 in hiding: police

According to police, they have dismantled the notorious gang responsible for stealing signal cables from the Delhi Metro network, specifically targeting the Blue Line, between Noida Electronic City and Dwarka.

“The gang’s operations disrupted metro services and caused significant inconvenience to commuters,” Joint Commissioner of Police Vijay Singh said.

The arrested suspects have been identified as Rashid Malik, a repeat offender previously involved in three theft cases, Shahrukh Malik, Ramzan and Junaid alias Bhura.

Police said the theft came to light at 5 am on December 5, when the section engineer of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s signaling department reported abnormal signaling circuit alarms in the control room.

“Upon investigation, it was discovered that a 140-metre long signal cable had been severed between Moti Nagar and Kirti Nagar Metro stations. This crucial cable transmits data to track circuits and helps monitor the locations of trains,” the JCP said.

Subsequently, a case was registered at the Raja Garden Metro police station under the relevant penal provisions and the Delhi Metro Railways Act.

“A team was formed under the supervision of G Ram Gopal Naik and further investigation was initiated. The team traced the gang’s activities and launched targeted raids. These efforts led to the arrest of Shahrukh Malik and later three of his associates were also arrested. the officer said, adding that they have identified the remaining seven gang members Masoom, Faisal, Islam, Nadeem, Siddhu, Teli and Sarfaraz.

Police said the rest of the suspects are absconding and raids are on to nab them.

Sharing the gang’s modus operandi, the JCP said Rashid Malik, Faisal, Masoom and Junaid were the masterminds behind the entire operation.

He said that during the investigation, it was also revealed that Rashid Malik, Faisal, Masoom and Junaid had identified a metro channel on the elevated tracks between Moti Nagar and Kirti Nagar stations.

“They generally took advantage of the cover of darkness to cut the cables after the DMRC services stopped for the night. The stolen cables do not carry electricity and are highly valuable due to their copper content. To carry out this task, it climbing and cutting cables, they had hired specialist members Islam, Nadeem, Siddhu and Teli who used ropes and hooks to climb the metro pillars to further cut the metro cables,” the officer said.

He added that police have recovered several audio clips of the suspect planning cable thefts in different areas.

Shahrukh and Ramzan were asked to reach the location shared by Faisal. They parked a loading vehicle at a distance to avoid suspicion and once the cables were cut, they were loaded into the vehicle, the JCP said, adding that Rashid Malik and absconding accused Faisal drove the loading vehicle in a Honda Amaze car.

The stolen cables were weighed in Mustafabad area, police said, adding that they seized 55 meters of stolen cable, a Tata Ace charging vehicle and two mobile phones from the arrested suspect.

The JCP said the Delhi Police Metro Unit has solved 22 of the 44 theft cases and arrested 53 people so far.

“This shows a significant jump compared to 2023, when twelve arrests were made. Delhi Police has already conducted a security audit of the Metro stations and written to the DMRC about vulnerabilities,” the officer said.

Services on the Delhi Metro’s Blue Line were disrupted for about six hours on December 5 due to the theft of 140 meters of signal cable between Moti Nagar and Kirti Nagar stations, causing significant inconvenience to commuters.

The Blue Line, one of the busiest metro corridors, connects Dwarka to Vaishali and Noida city center. At 8 am, the DMRC informed commuters about the incident. Normal services resumed at 1:38 p.m.

This article was generated from an automated feed from a news agency without any changes to the text.