Two mobile tower thefts reported in Garden City

Bengaluru: Even the mobile towers in the state capital Bangalore are not safe, because two mobile towers in the city have been stolen. While the first case was registered in Mahadevpura's Whitefield division, the second case was registered in Rajaji Nagar, North Bengaluru. Both the theft cases have similarities. What is surprising is that in both the cases the complainant is the same. Both the complaints were filed by the managing officer of a private firm that manages mobile towers in Bangalore city.

The first case was registered at Mahadevpura police station in Bangalore. The second case was registered at Subrahmanya Nagar Police Station. In their complaint, the complainant explained that the mobile tower was stolen by unknown persons. The case of mobile tower theft in Rajaji Nagar is very strange. Because, the thieves stole the mobile tower step by step in the period of 2019 to 2022 i.e. in 3 years.

On January 1, 2023, an official of a private organization responsible for the maintenance of the mobile tower filed a complaint with the police. A mobile tower belonging to their company was stolen by a stranger. In the complaint, it has been stated that many equipment including diesel generator, batteries were stolen from the tower. The theft took place on Goshala Road in Garudachar Palya of Mahadevpura Zone. The mobile tower was stolen in stages between August 1 and September 1, 2022. He explained that the total value of this tower and the equipment in it is Rs 17 lakh.

On the direction of the court, the police filed a complaint regarding the case of mobile tower theft in Mahadevpura area. Because the head of the private company that was managing the mobile tower went to court. They requested that the court should intervene in this matter and direct the police to investigate. The organization requested that the police register an FIR and investigate the case.

The Subrahmanya Nagar police had registered an FIR based on a private complaint report on the direction of the court. A case of theft was registered on January 18 under IPC Section 379.

The mobile tower theft case in Rajaji Nagar is also similar to the Mahadevpura case. A mobile tower was built in Rajaji Nagar First Block in 2010. It was leased to a private mobile network company. However, this mobile network company stopped its service in 2017. In this background, the mobile tower management company decided to lease the tower to someone else. But, suitable institutions were not found. However, the mobile tower was spared. It was hoped that other tenants would be found.

During the period of Covid from 2019 to 2021, the mobile tower management organization could not visit this mobile tower due to unavoidable reasons. However, on May 5, 2022, when the staff of the organization went to the mobile tower and inspected the place, it came to light that the tower had been stolen. Tools were also stolen. The staff of the organization told the police that its total value was Rs 16 lakh.

The police investigating both these cases said that this is a rare case. Many questions have been raised regarding this case, and the investigators are of the opinion that the mobile tower management organization should answer them.

The staff of the mobile tower management company did not answer many of the questions asked by the police. Thus, the investigators have decided to take further action based on their answer.

Another important fact is that these towers are about 50 feet tall. They weigh 10 tons each. Officials say that dismantling these towers and moving them to other places requires special expertise, technological assistance and know-how, and above all, a lot of time.