On July 21, 2023, the Western Railway’s RPF arrested a Bangladeshi resident identified as Kuddus Ismail Sheikh from Mazgaon in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The accused, as reported by Free Press Journal, is said to be the mastermind behind the 2021 daring copper wire theft of five local trains parked in Virar Carshed in Maharashtra.
The accused has been on the run for the last two years while his 17 accomplices were nabbed and sent to jail. Kuddus reportedly returned to India in January 2023 after fleeing to Bangladesh in October 2021. A special RPF team was sent out on June 29, 2023, to apprehend the accused after receiving information about his presence in Mumbai’s Govandi neighbourhood.
On July 22, 2023, Kuddus was brought before Vasai Road Railway Court, where he admitted to his role in the copper wire theft and provided information about his accomplices. He admitted they had sold the copper wires that had been stolen.
“The successful arrest was the result of relentless efforts by the RPF Virar team, working in collaboration with various agencies and sources of information. Kuddus Ismail Sheikh is currently in RPF custody until July 26, 2023” said an official of WR.
The event, which happened on October 16, 2021, involved the breaking of the locks on the coaches of five local trains, which led to the theft of copper cables and other railway supplies worth Rs 7,18,080. Kuddus had eluded capture up until recently, while the other 17 accused had been detained and had served their prison sentences.
In 2019, at least four UN Refugee card holder Rohingyas were among the six nabbed by the Police for allegedly stealing copper wires from the metro stations and metro tracks in Noida and Delhi. According to reports, the accused would steal copper wires by climbing over the station’s wall and have multiple cases of theft lodged against them. The copper wire recovered from them are worth approximately Rs 10 lakh.
Aslam, Asif, Manjur Alam, Nazir and Ali Hasan were residents of Delhi while Zubair Malik was from Mawana, Meerut. Zubair was believed to be the gang leader. Of these, at least four had United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) issued refugee cards, valid till November 2020.
