Tanveer Hussain
Budgam, July 22: Budgam Police have cracked a significant theft case involving the looting of equipment from telecom tower sites in Charar-i-Sharief and surrounding areas. The operation has led to the arrest of three accused and the recovery of stolen tower batteries belonging to a private telecom infrastructure company.
The case began to unfold when Police Station Charar-i-Sharief received a written complaint from Fayaz Ahmad Bhat, son of Abdul Gani Bhat, a resident of Kazipora Chadoora, who serves as a site technician with Altus Company managing Jio Reliance Towers. Bhat reported an attempted theft at the tower installation located in Kakawring village. Taking immediate cognizance, police began connecting the dots between this and several other recent incidents of theft at telecom tower sites across the Charar-i-Sharief sub-division. A number of suspects were rounded up for questioning, and during sustained interrogation, two individuals confessed to their involvement not only in the Kakawring attempt but also in an earlier theft that took place at a tower site in Hanjura village.
Following the disclosures, the police team successfully recovered eight stolen batteries used to power the telecom infrastructure.
The three individuals involved in the thefts have been identified as Gulzar Ahmad Ganie and Mohammad Rafi Khan, both residents of Arigam Budgam, and Mohammad Shafi Dar, a resident of Hanjigund Chadoora. All three have been formally arrested.
The accused were also handed over to Police Station Chadoora in connection with another case registered under similar charges for the Hanjura incident. [KNT]
