A ‘battery’ of cops needed to nab these battery thieves!

NT Correspondent

I f anyone thought that no one would ever dare to steal police assets, they are sorely mistaken. A couple dared to do the impossible-they stole batteries of CCTVs installed at traffic signal posts and managed to make a fortune in the process!

Police sources said the couple used to get active from 3 am to 5 am and moved around on a new bike to steal batteries. The police on checking the CCTVs, found that the bike on which the accused were moving did not have a tail lamp which made it difficult to capture the registration number.

The cops then approached the RTO and obtained details of 4000 bikes of the same make which the couple used. Police teams were deployed near the traffic posts that had batteries and caught the accused when they were on a ‘mission’. The accused are Sikander and his wife Najma.

Around 230 stolen batteries worth around Rs 20 lakh have been recovered from the couple who have over 68 cases registered against them. The couple was making a living running a tea shop. During the lockdown, the police destroyed the tea stall and to avenge the act, the couple decided to steal the batteries, said sources. “The cost of the battery is Rs 7000, however the stolen batteries were being sold for Rs 1000 per piece,” said an officer.