Kondagaon police bust interstate battery theft gang, engineer among four held

Raipur

Kondagaon police have arrested an interstate gang, including a telecom engineer, for allegedly stealing batteries from mobile towers across the region. Officials recovered stolen items and vehicles worth ₹13.22 lakh from the accused.

The matter came to light after a complainant, Ramkumar Rai, reported on 1 February 2026 that 72 batteries were stolen from a Jio mobile tower in Bhogapal village under Urandabeda police station limits on 28 January 2026. Following the complaint, the police registered a case under Sections 3(5) and 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Kondagaon Superintendent of Police Pankaj Chandra directed the formation of special teams comprising Urandabeda police and the Cyber Cell to track the suspects. During the investigation, the Cyber Cell analysed tower data dumps and past criminal records. This led the team to Raghavendra Sahu, a technician working with Jio, who was spotted near the site on the day of the incident.

Upon questioning, Sahu confessed to the theft at Bhogapal and admitted to targeting other mobile towers in the vicinity with his accomplice, Krishna Kumar Sahu. He revealed that the stolen batteries were sold to Abid Malik in Rajnandgaon through a scrap dealer, Samar Mohammad, based in Raipur.

Police subsequently apprehended Samar Mohammad in Raipur and Abid Malik in Rajnandgaon. Malik admitted to purchasing 72 batteries, of which 48 had been scrapped. The police seized 24 intact batteries valued at ₹1.72 lakh, ₹50,000 cash from scrap sales, and a Scorpio vehicle (CG 05 AE 5183) valued at approximately ₹11 lakh.

The arrested individuals have been identified as:

• Raghavendra Kumar Sahu (33): Resident of Bhakhara, Dhamtari district
• Krishna Kumar Sahu (33): Resident of Bhakhara, Dhamtari district
• Abid Malik (23): Resident of Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, currently living in Rajnandgaon
• Samar Mohammad Malik (37): Resident of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, currently living in Raipur

The police produced the accused before a local court. The operation was conducted under the guidance of Additional SP Kaushalendra Dev Patel and supervised by SDOP Farasgaon Abhinav Upadhyay and DSP Narendra Pujari.