Gone in 60 seconds: Power thieves in Mumbai
The authority of fake khaki uniforms copied from the Maharashtra State Electricity Board helped a group of thieves to efficiently dismantle a live transformer in a village in Virar, and make off with the booty.
The ‘team’ came equipped with a heavy duty crane to expedite the operation, and being aware of the 120 KVA transformer being live and functional, cut the power supply before getting down to work.
To curious residents, one of the six members of the group introduced himself as a Junior Officer of the MSEB.
The operation began on Tuesday afternoon at around 2.30 p.m., when the men in MSEB ‘uniform’ arrived at Khandanwadi village on the Umbergaothan-Navapur road in Agashi, Virar.
Some residents of the area wanted to know what was going on, to which the thieves confidently replied that the MSEB had a big plan to replace old transformers with new ones.
The theft thereafter proceeded smoothly with no interference from anyone, and the transformer was hauled off in a van. In the evening, though, the villagers discovered that no replacement was coming. They then called the MSEB to ask about the plan for a new transformer, since it was growing dark. The truth was then revealed to both sides.
MSEB officials in charge of Virar rushed to the spot to find their transformer missing and houses in darkness. They filed a complaint of theft under Section 379 of the IPC against unknown persons.
Harihar Gothwad, Additional Executive Engineer, MSEB, Vasai confirmed the incident, but said the officials “immediately made alternative power arrangements for the consumers.”
Power transformers have copper coils and oil that fetch a good amount in the scrap market.
A new transformer costs around Rs. 2 lakh.
In a similar incident in Virar in 2015, two people clad in MSEB uniforms had made off with copper wires and oil from a transformer in Virar East. They are yet to be arrested.
