Kondagaon, Chhattisgarh |Kondagaon Police have successfully busted an interstate gang involved in large-scale theft of batteries from mobile towers, arresting four accused and seizing stolen property worth over ₹13.22 lakh, officials said on Monday.
The operation was carried out under the guidance of Superintendent of Police Pankaj Chandra, following a complaint filed on February 1 by Ramkumar Rai regarding the theft of 72 batteries from a Jio mobile tower located in Bhogapal village under Urendabeda police station. The theft had reportedly taken place on January 28, 2026.
Given the seriousness of the crime, special teams from Urendabeda Police Station and the Cyber Cell were formed under the supervision of senior officers. During the investigation, technical analysis of tower data and past crime patterns revealed the involvement of Raghavendra Sahu, a technician employed by Jio. He was seen near the tower on the day of the incident and later confessed to orchestrating the theft.
Police revealed that Sahu was the mastermind of the operation, abusing his technical access to steal batteries from multiple mobile towers along with his associate Krishna Sahu. The stolen batteries were sold through scrap dealer Samar Mohammad of Raipur to Abid Malik in Rajnandgaon.
During interrogation, Abid Malik admitted to purchasing all 72 stolen batteries. Of these, 48 batteries had already been scrapped, while 24 batteries were recovered from his possession. Police also seized ₹50,000 in cash obtained from selling scrap and a Scorpio vehicle used in the crime, valued at approximately ₹11 lakh.
All accused have been arrested and produced before the court. The total value of seized items is estimated at ₹13.22 lakh.
Police credited the success of the operation to coordinated efforts by officers and personnel from Urendabeda Police Station and the Cyber Cell.
The arrested accused have been identified as:
- Raghavendra Kumar Sahu (33) – Mobile tower technician
- Krishna Kumar Sahu (33) – Associate
- Samar Mohammad Malik (37) – Scrap dealer, Raipur
- Abid Malik (23) – Buyer, Rajnandgaon
Further investigation is underway to determine whether the gang was involved in similar thefts across other districts or states.