27 July,2026 07:04 AM IST | Mumbai | Samiullah Khan
The accused being taken to court in a police jeep. Pic/By Special Arrangement
The Samta Nagar police have arrested two men for allegedly stealing around 153 metres of underground MTNL cable, worth approximately Rs 9 lakh, from Ashok Nagar in Kandivli East by preparing and circulating a fake MTNL work order. The arrested accused have been identified as Suresh Shinde, 38, and Swapnil Shelar, 35. They were arrested on July 22 and produced before a court the next day, which remanded them to police custody till July 29.
According to the complaint filed by Virendra Laltaprasad Yadav, 52, an MTNL manager at Samta Nagar, four 2000-pair copper cables measuring around 153 metres in total were laid underground between Ashok Nagar Cross Road No. 4 and Sai Arman Building in Kandivli East. The theft came to light after an alert was raised over a fibre cut at the Pune office.
MTNL officials inspected the cable chamber and allegedly found the copper cables had been cut and removed. A subsequent inspection of the underground duct confirmed the cables were missing. The stolen cables, described as old and used, were estimated to be worth around Rs 9,00,500.
During the investigation, police allegedly found that the accused had prepared a fake MTNL work order and sent it to a contractor, following which the underground cables were removed. Police suspect the duo acted on the instructions of a mastermind, who is currently absconding. A police officer told mid-day, "We are also probing the possible involvement of MTNL employees, as the accused appeared to have access to information related to the underground cable network and work orders."
The Samta Nagar police are continuing the investigation under the guidance of DCP Gajanan Rajmane, Senior Inspector Jaywant Shinde and API Y Raut, along with the detection team. Police are tracing the absconding mastermind and ascertaining the role of others allegedly involved in the cable theft.
