Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: A gang involved in the stealing of transformers from Islamabad as well as other parts of the country and selling them in Peshawar has the backing of a member of the provincial assembly.

Although the police have arrested the main culprit of the gang but after his bail the police has put the investigation of the case into the doldrums due to which the matter regarding recovery of 133 transformers in the same numbers of theft is hanging in the balance.

The reliable sources said that dozens of transformers were stolen from the rural suburb of Islamabad during midnights at which the IESCO registered the cases at relevant police stations.

During the current year , the thieves took away some 20 transformers form the jurisdiction of IESCO.

The sources told Daily Times that some 10 cases of transformer thefts were registered at the police station in Koral, eight cases are lying pending in police station Nelore, whereas, two cases each are registered at police stations in Khanna and Shahzad Town.

Police Station Koral had arrested the main accused of the case, Adnan Saqib, and his driver Sajid besides taking the mini-truck into custody on which the stolen transformers packed in the sacks were loaded.

But during the course of investigations the police came to know the gang continued its operations under the patronage of an MPA from Narowal, who always became active when any member of the band was arrested to get them released.

The police on the indication of the arrested men, also held their other cohorts including Sajid alias Dana, Ihsan Ali alias Fadi, Muhammad Ashraf alias Acho and Nazim alias Nazman. The told the police during interrogation that they took the stolen transformers under cover jute sacks to Peshawar where they sold those transformers to a merchant named Haji Folad Khan.

The 100 KV transformer that cost Rs 0.5 million was sold just for Rs 90,000 whereas a 200 KV transformer which has an actual price of Rs 1 million , was sold for Rs 100,000 only. They all distributed the amount between themselves

The culprits informed the police that they used to steal transformers in the late hours of the night during load shedding hours by cutting wires tactfully. They confessed some 133 thefts, but police could recover only five of them.

Investigating Officer of the case ASI Shakil Butt told this scribe that the police had got reasonable development by arresting the five members of the gang and recovering five transformers.

He said that police could not arrest Haji Folad Khan yet who was the dealer of stolen transformers as he ran away to Jamrood from Peshawar, where the writ of the police is not present.