MAPUSA
Four individuals, including the owner of a scrapyard, were arrested by Colvale police in connection with the theft of iron bars valued at Rs 1.80 lakh from the under-construction site of the Halarnkar Education Society, located at the Housing Board in Colvale.
The theft, which involved 400 iron bars of 25 mm thickness and four metres in length, along with rings made from 8 mm bars, was reported between September and December 31 last year.
A representative of the Halarnkar Education Society lodged the complaint, detailing the theft from the construction site.
The total value of the stolen items was estimated to be Rs 1.80 lakh.
Following the complaint, Colvale police registered an offence under Section 303(2) of the BNS 2023 and launched an investigation.
Acting on intelligence gathered from reliable sources, police identified a scrapyard dealer from Karaswada, Mapusa, as a key suspect in the crime.
A search was conducted at the scrapyard, where part of the stolen goods, including an iron bar, was recovered.
The arrested individuals include Katalsab Bepari (54), the owner of the scrapyard in Karaswada, along with his labourers, Manja Lamani (30) from Cunchelim, Surendra Jaiwal (32) from Mapusa, and Sharun Kumar (23) from Colvale. Lamani, Jaiwal, and Kumar are originally from Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, respectively.
The four accused were produced before the Mapusa JMFC court, where they were remanded to three days of police custody for further investigation.
Authorities have assured that the investigation will continue, and further action will be taken based on the findings.
