Delhi Metro cable theft: Police file FIR, begin probe

New Delhi, Dec 5 (PTI) Police registered a case in connection with the theft of over 140 metres of signalling cables between Moti Nagar and Kirti Nagar stations of Delhi Metro's Blue Line on Thursday, officials said.

A senior police officer said that the case was registered under sections 303(2) (theft), 329(3) (criminal trespass and house-trespass) of the BNS, and section 74 of DMRC Act at Rajouri Garden Metro police station.

According to sources, there are no CCTV cameras installed near the spot, but police teams are checking the entire stretch.

"The preliminary investigation has suggested that miscreants using nearby trees jumped onto the tracks. They severed a 142-metre section of wire, valued at over Rs 1 lakh, and threw it onto the road, causing damage to branches of trees.

"Prior to the incident, a few workers were reported to have been working near the spot. The police have obtained their contact details and will also question them regarding the incident," a police source said.

One of the busiest metro corridors, the Blue Line connects Dwarka with Vaishali and Noida City Centre.

Earlier, around 6 am on Thursday, signalling controller of DMRC informed police that transmission cable along the tracks between Moti Nagar and Kirti Nagar was stolen.

Due to the cable theft, in the morning hours, speed of metro trains was reduced to 25-30 kmph from 70 kmph between the two stations of Blue Line which caused inconvenience to commuters. The normal metro services were restored at 1:38 pm after repair, police said.

DMRC's Principal Executive Director, Anuj Dayal, said, "A specialised team of 20 personnel was formed and deployed at the affected area at 1 pm to carry out the repair work. A total of 140 metres of cable had been damaged, and these personnel executed the restoration work in a record time of just over 30 minutes. Eventually, normal services were restored on the Blue Line at 1.38 pm." Earlier this year, the Delhi Police had written to the DMRC urging them to keep an eye on five points -- CCTV cameras on the railway tracks, lighting of dark spots, cutting the branches of trees at the metro station boundaries, increasing the number of guards at the platforms and other metro premises and installing platform screen doors (PSD) at the stations.

Sources said that over 200 cases of cable thefts from the metro tracks and premises have been reported in the past four years. Installing CCTV cameras on the metro tracks and lighting the dark spots could lead to better results, they said. PTI ALK NIT NIT KVK KVK