Chikkaballapur: A 25-year-old man was arrested in Chikkaballapur for allegedly stealing copper scrap from the same shop more than 20 times over the past year, with the stolen material estimated to be worth nearly Rs 9 lakh. The accused, Saleem, was caught during a late-night theft and has been remanded in judicial custody.The accused, reportedly a drug addict, committed theft of scrap copper from one of the scrap shops in Chikkaballapur and sold it to different purchasers in various places in Bengaluru Rural and other parts, said Musheer Ahmed, owner of Syndicate Scrap shop.Musheer, who has been in the scrap business for the past few years, began noticing copper scrap and other materials going missing from his shop frequently in recent months. Following road-widening works in Gauribidanuru and Sidlaghatta, several old buildings were demolished, and Musheer had purchased discarded electrical items and wiring material. After sorting the copper components, he stored them separately at his shop.He installed CCTV cameras and discovered that a youth was entering the shop after midnight to steal the copper. Musheer and a few employees attempted to catch the thief by keeping vigil at the shop overnight. However, the accused managed to evade them on a couple of occasions, taking advantage of nights when it was raining heavily.Musheer subsequently approached the Chikkaballapur police for help. Acting on their directions, he and a couple of police officers kept watch at the shop one night and caught Saleem red-handed while he was allegedly stealing the copper.Police later learnt that two other youths were involved in the thefts and would remain outside the shop, keeping watch on the movements of Musheer and his staff. Efforts are on to trace and arrest the two.According to Musheer, Saleem allegedly stole copper scrap worth nearly Rs 9 lakh in more than 20 visits to the shop over the past year.
