Police arrested eight individuals for allegedly impersonating MTNL workers and stealing underground MTNL cables valued at Rs 58 lakh from various locations in Mumbai, an official said on Wednesday, reported news agency PTI.

The arrests were made after police and MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam) officials conducted a raid at SV Road when the gang was busy removing the underground cables, reported PTI.

The accused individuals are residents of Kurla, Sakinaka, Dahisar, and Veera Desai Road, a police official said, adding that more arrests are likely in the case, reported PTI.

Police seized four vehicles, including an Innova Car and a two-wheeler, and an excavator machine used in the crime.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the gang used to steal cables at night by digging them out of the ground.

Three UP men held in Thane for chain-snatching; one of them found to be murder accused on the run

In another case, the police have busted an inter-state gang of chain-snatchers operating in Maharashtra`s Thane district with the arrest of three men, one of whom turned out to be a murder case accused on the run from Uttar Pradesh, an official said on Tuesday, reported PTI.

Addressing a press conference, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone III, Kalyan) Atul Zende said the gang members were nabbed after a complaint was lodged about a chain-snatching incident that took place on September 3 in the Dombivli East area of the district, reported PTI.

“Two men on a motorcycle snatched the gold chain of an elderly woman. Police formed two teams to investigate the case. Video footage from 106 CCTV cameras installed in the area was scanned and the motorcycle used in the crime was traced. It was found that the vehicle had been stolen from Pune,” he said, reported PTI.

The police laid a trap at Sunil Nagar in Dombivli, and arrested three suspects, identified as Abhay Sunil Gupta (21), Abhishek Omprakash Johari (32) and Arpit alias Prashant Awadhesh Shukla (27), all residents of Uttar Pradesh, reported PTI.

“During the operation, we recovered a country-made rifle, four live rounds and stolen gold ornaments from them. We also seized a stolen motorcycle,” the DCP said.

“The total recovery in the case amounted to Rs 3.8 lakh, including the firearm, jewellery and the vehicle. Cases were registered against the trio on the charges of theft and robbery, common intention, and also under sections of the Arms Act,” he said, reported PTI.

“Shukla is a murder accused wanted in Uttar Pradesh. We are in touch with our counterparts in UP to gather more details,” the official said.

The arrested have crimes registered against them in Thane, Pune and Uttar Pradesh, he added.

(With inputs from PTI)

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