Mumbai: Two held for stealing manhole covers outside Dahisar railway station

A still from CCTV footage that helped the cops catch the thieves

The MHB Colony police have arrested two accused for stealing manhole covers on the road outside Dahisar railway station. According to police sources, the arrested individuals were identified as Rajesh Mandal, 36, and Majid Shaikh, 44. The duo would commit thefts while roaming the streets under the pretext of picking up garbage.

"The municipality had installed five iron manhole covers on the sewage channel opposite Raghukal building near Dahisar station. It was discovered that these covers had been stolen, and a case was registered at the MHB police station on July 22 on the complaint of BMC officials," said an officer from MHB Colony police station. Under the guidance of Anand Bhoite DCP, Zone 11, and Senior Police Inspector Sudhir Kudalkar, along with Police Inspector Sachin Shinde, PSI Nilesh Patil and their detection team, the investigation traced the accused to Mira Road, where the duo was caught on July 23.

Rajesh Mandal and Majid Shaikh

"During the investigation, we reviewed footage from more than 40 CCTV cameras and spotted two individuals on electric bicycles collecting empty bottles early in the morning. Due to the early hour, their faces were not visible. Further review of cameras in the area determined that the thieves had come from Mira Road," the officer added.

"We gathered information about plastic collectors using electric bicycles and set a trap in the Dahisar checknaka area. After five hours of surveillance, we traced the suspects to a Mira Road chawl, where we found an electric tricycle being charged at a house. A police team entered the house, detained the duo, and arrested them later. Two iron manhole covers were seized from their possession, and we are looking for the rest," the officer added.

The accident that led to change

Dr Deepak Amrapurkar, 58, who practised at Bombay Hospital, died after falling into an open manhole while returning home amid heavy rainfall near Prabhadevi on August 29, 2017. The incident prompted the civic body to install protective nets on manholes to prevent such accidents. There have been previous instances of drunkards stealing manhole covers at night.