Three arrested for theft

PUNE: The Pune rural police have arrested three suspects for allegedly stealing copper from the transformers belonging to Maharastra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL). The police have recovered 120 kg of copper worth Rs 36,000 from the suspects.
The suspects have been identified as Rajendra Tukaram Khare (40) of Urulikanchan, Deepak Kailas Kamble (26) and Mohammed Shaikh (27) both of Loni Kalbhor.Acting on the tip-off the police team led by inspector Nitinkumar Gokave of the local crime branch (LCB) of the Pune rural police made the arrests.
The police investigations have revealed that the suspects had stolen the copper from transformers from Loni Kalbhor, Lonikand, Jejuri, Yevat and Saswad area in the Pune district. The suspects have 29 cases of thefts of copper from the transformers during the period between the year 2007 and 2010. They also has a case of murder and robberies registered against them.
Inspector Gokave said the theft of the copper from the transformers was major cause of worry for the farmers in the Pune district. Following the copper theft from the transformers, the electricity supply in that area used to get disrupted for a long time. The farmers were not able to water their farms as it took four to five days to repair the transformer.
The investigating team comprising police constables Sanjay Bhondve, Anand Kale, Amol Jadhav, Sunil Kale and Nilesh Kadam, nabbed the suspects.