Bathinda: Irrigated paddy fields and a narrow link road foiled a transformer theft in Punjab‘s Moga district late Saturday night.The suspects arrived in Takhtpura village with a car and a truck, intending to dismantle an electricity transformer under the cover of darkness. As the main approach from the link road was too narrow, the thieves drove onto a kutcha path extending nearly 100 feet into the fields. However, they failed to account for the deep mud caused by freshly irrigated paddy crops.Both vehicles got stuck in the field of farmer Harjinder Singh, forcing the suspects to abandon them overnight. When they returned Sunday morning to retrieve the vehicles, local villagers led by Harjinder confronted them. Unable to explain why he was on the property, one suspect, identified as Lovepreet Singh of Alkara village in Barnala district, was apprehended by locals and handed over to the police.Police have registered a case against Lovepreet Singh, Jasdeep Singh of Khote village, Moga, and Wakil Singh of Goniana, Bathinda.Nihal Singh Wala DSP Anwar Ali said one suspect has been arrested while two remain at large, adding that both vehicles were impounded. Police are also investigating whether the gang is linked to other transformer thefts.The incident comes amid rise in agricultural item thefts, with some farmers recently resorting to putting up posters asking thieves to leave their motor pumps intact and list their bank account details for direct cash deposits instead.
