IN Adramatic inter-state operation, Jabalpur police and Uttar Pradesh jointly apprehended two thieves after a 300-kilometre chase in five hours. The duo escaped with a Bolero pickup and equipment worth lakhs of rupees. Remarkably, the break through came when an e-chal lan notification, issued for the stolen vehicle, alerted the owner and led police straight to the accused. The arrested individuals, Sarfaraz Khan of Haryana and Mayank Kumar of Tikamgarh, arrived Jabalpur just 18 days ago to work as welders on the ongo ing AMRUT Yojana pipeline project between Gokulpur and Ranjhi.

 

A private contractor had employed them without verify ing their background. More than 20 labourers were working on the site, each assigned different tasks. Sarfaraz and Mayank skilled welders were working on the project for 18 days. On December 6, when the duo failed to return to the office with the Bolero even after evening hours, other workers searched for them in Ranjhi. When they could n’t be found, Supervisor Abhinav was informed. The Bolero con tained oxygen cylinders, a welding machine, cables and other equipment worth lakhs.

 

Supervisor lodged a complaint at Ranjhi Police Station, where the police tried calling the sus pects, but their mobile phones were switched off. While the police were trying to track the mobile location of the suspects, the most crucial lead arrived around 11.30 pm on Sunday. The vehicle owner received a message about an e challan of Rs 12,500 issued by Uttar Pradesh Police for over speeding on Tikamgarh–Lalitpur Road on the night of December 6. This confirmed that the thieves were heading towards Lalitpur.As soon as SHO, Ranjhi, Umesh Golhani got this information, he alerted senior officers and immediately coordinated with Lalitpur Police. Around mid night, a police team left Jabalpur and drove continuously for five hours, reaching Lalitpur by early morning.

 

There, with coordinated efforts of police from both states, the team encircled the suspects and arrested them. The stolen Bolero and equipment worth lakhs were recovered. The police had no back ground information or criminal records of the accused. Their mobile phones were mostly switched off, making tracking difficult. The e-challan alert turned out to be the breakthrough that led investigators directly to them with UP Police’s support.