Man with ₹50k bounty held for radio unit theft from telecom towers

Ghaziabad: A 46-year-old scrap dealer who was associated with a gang that steals and sells mobile tower components in various states was arrested by the crime branch on Tuesday.Two radio receiver units (RRUs) and three battery units worth Rs.20 lakh have been seized from Mehrajuddin alias Mirajuddin, on whom the police had placed a reward of Rs 50,000, an officer said, adding that he is from Delhi’s Tughlakabad Extension.In May, police had arrested 10 of 13 members of the gang and recovered equipment worth more than Rs.72 lakh. “After six people were arrested in early May, police placed a reward of Rs.50,000 on the remaining seven, including Mehrajuddin. After a few days, four more were arrested. Now, only gang leader Javed Mirapuriya remains at large. He is believed to be in Dubai. The police have placed a reward of Rs.1 lakh on him,” said ADCP (crime) Sachchidanand.During the investigation, Mehrajuddin told police that the gang had been stealing RRUs, batteries and other equipment from mobile towers in NCR, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal among others. Mirapuriya manages operations of the gang, according to cops.“Mehrajuddin said he worked as a scrap dealer in Delhi, but did not make enough money to meet his needs. He came into contact with Sumit Kasani who told him about the gang,” the ADCP said.The suspect, according to police, claimed he joined the gang about a year ago, and began working with Kasani, Mirapuriya, his brother Wasim, Zubair, Shoaib Malik, Rahul Goyal, Wasim Alwi, Suhail Malik, Altaf, Naeem and Shahzad. “Of them, eight people are scrap dealers, four are thieves and one is an engineer,” said Sachchidanand.The gang would conduct recces to find mobile towers with equipment worth stealing. Rahul Goyal, who worked for a telecom company, would tell them what tower components to steal, while Malik would arrange transport. “The suspect said the equipment was easy to steal and did not raise any suspicions during transport. They then would take the stolen goods to a warehouse owned by Mirapuriya brothers, who would then sell the equipment. Kasani and Zubair would then get money from the brothers and distribute it among others,” Sachchidanand told TOI.The ADCP said further investigation is under way.

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