HYDERABAD: Theft of copper wire bundles worth Rs.30 lakh from the premises of swanky Police Command Control Centre building being constructed at Banjara Hills on Saturday raised many an eyebrows, putting the law enforcement agency in a tight spot.
Officials, who reportedly took some men into custody with regard to the theft, said robbers had already sold the wires and efforts were on to trace the stolen material. The fact that the theft was reported from within the Command Control Centre itself raises questions about the surveillance and alertness of the cops.
“If someone can plan a theft, execute it and successfully dispose of the stolen property from the prestigious Command Control Centre, which has plans of having its eyes all over Telangana with more than 6.5 lakh surveillance cameras linked to it, one can imagine how lethargic the cops in the city are. Our city is already getting a very bad image due to rising crimes and to add to that is such negligence,” said Abdul Kashi, an activist from Hyderabad.
The bundles were stolen with the help of an ambulance stationed at the high-security site in case of emergency. A complaint was lodged at the Banjara Hills police station by the project manager of the site and a case was registered.
The police said two persons were taken into custody on suspicion of theft, including an ambulance driver who was said to be the main suspect. “As the building is about to come to completion, the contractor has started the de-staging and the scrap material is being shifted out of the site to clear the premises. Taking this as an opportunity, an ambulance driver, who is working for the contractor, shifted the copper bundles,” said the police, adding that as construction works were not completely done with, no CCTC cameras were installed inside. The police further said no outsiders were allowed inside and that it was known from the beginning that the inside crew was involved in the theft.
The news had also netizens questioning the cops about the theft inside such a grand, tech-savvy place in the heart of the city. “I hope the cops up their game. It is really sad to see Hyderabad in the news in bad light time and again. I keep defending the city when others point out something, and this does not bode well for such proud citizens,” said Gayatri Rao, an activist.
The Command and Control Centre, which is being built at Road Number 12 of Banjara Hills, is a multi-storied building which comprises state-of-the-art infrastructure to enable the state police to effectively manage the law and order situation. It is being built at a cost of `585 crore and the construction is said to be 95 percent complete as of last month.
