Thane Police arrest seven men for transformer copper wire thefts in Murbad

The Thane police have arrested seven men and detained a minor for allegedly dismantling electricity transformers and stealing copper wire in Murbad and surrounding areas. The breakthrough, announced on Tuesday, led to the detection of 12 theft cases registered across Thane and Raigad districts.

The investigation began after a senior technician lodged a complaint at the Murbad police station. According to the police, thieves had broken open a roadside transformer in Sangam village and fled with the copper wiring.

Following the complaint, the police registered a First Information Report under section 303 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The probe was launched under the supervision of Sub-Divisional Police Officer Anil Lad and Murbad police inspector Sachin Hundalekar.

Thane Superintendent of Police Dr Vinaykumar Rathod stated during a press conference that officers received a specific tip-off that suspects were arriving in Murbad to sell the stolen copper wire.

Acting on the tip-off, police officers laid a trap and initially apprehended two suspects, identified as Sunil Ramesh Pawar and Prashant Prakash Wagh, along with the stolen material.

Subsequent interrogation and technical analysis of mobile data led the police to arrest the main accused, Naresh Bhau More and Suraj Ashok Pardhi. Three other accomplices—Kisan Ramrup Kumar, Nishant Mohan Singh, and Raj Gulabchand Yadav—were also arrested, and a juvenile was detained in connection with the crime.

During their interrogation, the accused confessed to their involvement in multiple thefts across Thane Rural and Raigad districts.

With these arrests, the police have solved 10 cases registered across various police stations in Thane district and two cases in Raigad district.

Police recovered stolen copper material worth ₹5 lakh across all 12 cases. Additionally, they seized a small goods carrier and four motorcycles used in the commission of the crimes, valued at ₹3,20,000, bringing the total recovery of stolen property to ₹8.20 lakh.