4 days after opening of Delhi's Magenta Line corridor, cable theft hits services

NEW DELHI: Just four days after it became operational, train services on the new 9.9km Deepali Chowk-Majlis Park stretch on the Magenta Line were impacted on Thursday after 1,000 metres of signalling cables were stolen before the start of service. Police arrested one of the suspects from the spot.

"The cable theft disrupted the signalling system. Trains ran at a restricted speed of 25 kmph in the affected section between Bhalswa and Majlis Park metro stations," said Anuj Dayal, principal executive director, corporate communications, DMRC.

This corridor - along with the Majlis Park-Maujpur stretch, an extension of Pink Line - was inaugurated by PM Modi on Sunday.

Dayal said installation of signalling cables would not be possible without adversely affecting passenger services during revenue hours.

To minimise passenger inconvenience, restoration work will be taken up at night after the end of revenue service on Thursday night. The necessary planning and preparatory works are already being undertaken during the daytime for the activities to be done at night,” he added.

Police received information about the incident around 4.20am Thursday from the signal controller at Majlis Park, who told cops that the theft of cables had severely affected the signalling system, causing it to go down.

The complainant further said that during inspection, it was found about 1,000 metres of signalling cable had been stolen.

“A night patrolling team immediately reached the spot and noticed some people melting wires to extract copper in a nearby jungle area. The team arrested one suspect, who was found in possession of 170-180 metres of burnt cable, which was seized,” said DCP (Metro) Bharat Reddy Bommareddy.

The accused was identified as Seikh Safiq (28), a resident of Jahangirpuri. A case was registered under sections 329(4) (criminal trespass and house-trespass),305(1) (theft in a dwelling house or place of transportation), 3(5) (common intention) and 331 (punishment for house-trespass or house-breaking) of BNS, along with sections 74(1) and 78 of DMRC Act at Azadpur Metro police station.

A joint survey of vulnerable points was also conducted by teams of Metro Police and DMRC. Raids are being conducted to nab the other suspects. “DMRC deeply regrets the inconvenience caused to the passengers due to such incidents of cable theft and is also in touch with the law and order machinery to resolve such recurring issues,” said Dayal.

In the past, cable thefts have often led to delays in Metro service. On Jan 11, service on the Airport Express Line (Yashobhoomi Dwarka Sector 25 to New Delhi) was affected after an attempted cable theft. Nearly 800 metres of signalling cables were found damaged on the tracks.

According to a DMRC official, cable thefts typically occur between 12.30am and 4am, when Metro services are not operational. At night, thieves climb onto the viaduct, cut the cables, hand them to accomplices, and escape. The official said the cables are highly valuable due to their copper and aluminium content.