According to a TOI report, 80 cases of metro cable theft, which caused disruption in the metro services in the capital region, have been registered with the Delhi Police. The metal used in preparing the wires for the metro cables has been a primary reason for these thefts.
According to a police officer quoted in the report, those stealing the cables work in gangs or groups of seven to eight. They prefer secluded tracks and places such as drains or jungles to commit these thefts.
The officer added that a lean member enters these tracks through broken walls, or climbing trees close to the metro station, or using ropes. The cable is then cut with an iron blade tied to a wooden stick to avoid any electric shock. After the cable is cut, the thief throws it on the ground, and the other members rush to pick up the cable and hide it in the bushes, or load it in their vehicles. The member who cut the cable also flees using a rope.
The police have stated that these thefts are mostly carried out at night when the services aren’t operational. According to police data, 50 cases of cable thefts were registered in 2021, of which 30 were solved and 20 people were arrested. Till 30 June this year, 30 such cases have been registered, of which 14 were solved and 30 were arrested. Earlier this year, three people were arrested for allegedly stealing metro cables worth Rs 20 lakh from the Maujpur police station.
Besides causing disruption in metro services, the repeated thefts of metro cables – which help in signalling systems – compels DMRC to run the metro on manual mode, further delaying the services. Just a few weeks ago, services on the Blue line – the longest metro line which covers 50 stations from Noida Electronic city to Dwarka Sector 21, and 8 stations from Vaishali to Yamuna Bank – had suffered a day-long glitch in its service due to the metro thefts. The Violet line too, which operates from Kashmere Gate to Raja Nahar Singh metro station had also suffered several such glitches in service caused by the cable thefts.
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