Khaprakhol (Balangir): Khaprakhol police have arrested nine persons, including the owner of an aluminium utensil manufacturing factory, in connection with an organised electricity wire theft racket operating in the Khaprakhol police station area.
Acting on repeated incidents of electricity wire theft reported over the past few days, Khaprakhol police formed a special team under the leadership of Station Officer Narendra Chhatra and launched a targeted operation. During the crackdown, police arrested eight thieves from the Kantabanji area and later apprehended Prakash Behera, the owner of a factory that allegedly purchased and used the stolen electricity wires.
The arrested accused have been identified as Ashok Mallik, Nrupa Bagarti, Prashant Bagarti, Rohit Kumbhar, Bharat Kumbhar, Mukesh Naik, and Sanjay Tandi, all residents of the Kantabanji area. Police sources said the group was involved in systematic theft of electricity wires from various locations under the Khaprakhol police limits.
Following the arrests, police traced the stolen wires to a factory where aluminium utensils were being manufactured using the illegally obtained material. A raid on the factory led to the seizure of aluminium utensils and raw materials worth several lakhs of rupees.
During the operation, police also seized three motorcycles, one four-wheeler, one pickup vehicle, eight mobile phones, ₹15,000 in cash, and a large quantity of stolen electricity wires.
Police officials stated that the investigation is ongoing to determine the full scale of the racket and to identify whether more people are involved in the illegal trade of stolen electricity materials.
