KATHMANDU: Ten people who were involved in the theft and sale of electrical transformers have been taken into custody by Kavre police. The gang had stolen six transformers from various locations in the district and sold the copper wire from them. This surge in transformer thefts prompted the formation of a special team to tackle the issue.
According to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Rajkumar Shrestha, personnel from the Mangaltar Area Police Office and the Bhakundebesi Police Station made the first arrests. Bishnu Bahadur Sarki, Dikul Khatri, Pravin Basnet, Jagannath Basnet, Santosh BK, Rajesh BK, Kumar BK, and Prem Mijar are among the accused.
Further investigation revealed that the stolen copper wire was sold at scrap shops in Bhaktapur. A joint team from Bhaktapur’s Jagate Police Circle has since arrested three more members of the gang and seized copper wire and other items from several scrap shops.
The gang was found to have carefully planned their thefts, targeting transformers at night while posing as scrap collectors. The stolen transformers were meant for critical infrastructure such as settlements, drinking water, and irrigation systems.
