Mumbai: The city Crime Branch arrested four persons for allegedly impersonating MTNL officials and stealing nearly 985 metres of underground MTNL copper cable worth Rs 39.40 lakh from Borivali East.The police said they caught the accused red handed while they carried digging tools and machinery. Police said the total value of the seized property, including vehicles and machinery, was estimated at Rs 1 crore.The arrested accused were identified as Sahil Shakeel Sah (20) of Siddharthnagar, Uttar Pradesh; Abdul Siddique Ahmed Sheikh (38) of Kurla, Mumbai; Rizwan Mehtab Malik (24) of Siddharthnagar, Uttar Pradesh; and Mohammed Afzal Hasan Khan (35) of Ghatkopar, Mumbai.Acting on a tip-off, a unit 10 team laid a trap near the Magathane Telephone Exchange opposite Clarion Building on Vasant Marvel Road in Borivali East during the early hours on Tuesday and intercepted two Bolero pick-up vehicles. Police allegedly found them loaded with cut pieces of stolen 2,000-pair MTNL underground copper cables.Police seized two Bolero pick-up vehicles, 985 metres of copper cable valued at Rs 39.40 lakh, a JCB excavator, and two mobile phones. Police said the accused disclosed that the underground cable had been dug out using the JCB without any permission from MTNL.The case was initially registered at Kasturba Marg Police Station under Sections 303(2), 324(5) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with Section 42 of the Telecommunications Act, 2023, before being transferred to the Crime Branch for further investigation.Police said Abdul Siddique Sheikh was the alleged mastermind who procured information about the underground cable network and organised its theft. Police were probing to identify other members of the gang, trace buyers of the stolen copper, recover additional stolen property, and investigate the involvement of accomplices who allegedly escaped during the raid. Police said Abdul Siddique had a previous criminal case registered against him at Navghar Police Station.
