Beware ! Your mobile phone battery could contain stolen lithium ions. Nagpur rural police have successfully dismantled a gang of battery thieves who specialised in stealing lithium-ion batteries from Jio mobile towers. The stolen batteries are sold to a Delhi-based gang, the members of which extract the lithium and supply it to battery manufacturing companies. The group consisted of five members, all of whom were arrested by the Local Crime Branch (LCB) of the Rural Police. The police found 82 stolen batteries in their possession. One of the key members of the gang hails from Delhi. Superintendent of Police (SP) Vishal Anand revealed that the gang had committed 27 thefts of mobile batteries from Jio towers. Out of these, 20 cases were reported in Nagpur rural areas, two in Nagpur city, and five in Wardha district.

 

The inter-state gang displayed a deep understanding of mobile tower setups. They specifically targeted isolated Jio towers to avoid immediate detection. SP Anand explained that Jio towers were their chosen targets due to the presence of lithium-ion batteries, each valued at around Rs 90,000. Of the gang members, Kalim alias Alim Sheikh Mehbub Sheikh (34) and Najim alias Aklak Yusuf Pathan (26), both residents of Kondhali, used to steal batteries from towers in isolated locations. They would gain access by breaking the latch of tower doors. They would then sell the batteries stolen to a scrap dealer Farukh Sheikh Noor Sheikh (38), residing in Budhwar Peth, Kondhali. Such batteries are mostly produced by Costlight and VRLA companies.

 

Farukh had a connection with Aman Mehrajudddin Malik (22), from Chaman Park, Mustafabad, Delhi, another accused in the case, who facilitated extraction of lithium from the stolen batteries. The extracted lithium was then supplied to battery manufacturing companies. Additionally, police identified Sushil Jamunaprasad Shahu (30), a resident of Binaki Mangalwari, Nagpur, as another accomplice in the theft. The successful arrest of the gang was due to over two months of dedicated efforts by the LCB, said SP Anand. Led by SP Vishal Anand and Addl SP Dr Sandip Pakhale, the arrest was executed by various officers including PI LCB Omprakash Kokate, APIs Rajiv Karmalwar, Anil Raut, ASI Chandrashekhar Ghadekar, Dinesh Adhapure, Dhnyaneshwar Raut, Pramod Tabhane, Nilesh Barve, Iqbal Sheikh, Ashish Bhure, Pramod Bhoyar, Nitesh Piprode, Ranjit Jadhav, Vipin Gaidhane, Umesh Fulbel, Nilesh Inglkar, Amol Kuthe, Mukesh Shukla, Satish Roath and several others.