Anantapur police have jointly arrested a multi-district gang that had stolen aluminum and copper wires from agricultural transformers in Anantapur and Sri Sathya Sai districts. The police recovered 450 kilograms of copper wire and 180 kilograms of aluminum wire from the defendant.
Anantapur police chief P. Jagadeesh told the media on Thursday that the accused were involved in 33 cases of theft of copper and aluminum wires in the two districts and stored the stolen wires in a hut.
The arrested have been identified as Chakali Raghavendra, Boya Chiranjeevi, Boya Parandama and Kavali Yerriswamy, all belonging to different villages in Kambadur mandal, while the other two – Erikala Vasu alias Sake Vasu and B. Vannurswamy alias Johny are abscond. The gang melted the stolen wires into ingots and stored them in a hut in Kakarapalli near Ananthapur for sale in Hyderabad.
The group was involved in the theft of copper and aluminum wires from agricultural transformers in the two districts over the past year. The main accused, Raghavendra, works as an electrician and provides support to local electricity officials and assistants and is paid daily wages. “He had always aspired to build his own house, but his daily wages could barely cover household expenses. To fund the construction of his house, he planned to commit theft and use his experience repairing farm connection transformers to steal copper wires and aluminum line,” Mr. Jagadish said.
Jagadish said the accused collaborated with Chiranjeevi and Paramdhama, who were outsourced employees who collected electricity bills, and Vasu, who brutally prosecuted them at Khanbadur police station. “Raghavendra, Chiranjeevi and Paramdhama formed a gang along with Vasu and other accused Vannur Swamy@Johnny and Erriswamy. The three acted as support persons for the electrical assistant and identified potential theft locations and copper and aluminum transformers. The gang has been carrying out crimes since last year They would open the transformers, put copper and aluminum wires in bags and hide them in a hut near Kakarapalli,” SP. explain.
Police are calling on farmers and the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to prevent such thefts in the future.
Published – December 19, 2024 04:51 pm (IST)