21 cellphone towers stolen in Kolhapur district in two years

A telecom company has registered a complaint with Kolhapur police after it found out that 21 mobile towers erected in Kolhapur district have been stolen.

The theft happened over a period of two years, Pravin Tukaram Tikare, a resident of Survenagar near Kolhapur who works with the firm, said. Tikare filed a complaint with Rajwada Police Station on Wednesday.

Tikare said that his firm, Global Telecomm Limited, erects the mobile towers and leases them to the mobile operators.

The towers are leased for ten years, and then fresh tenders are floated to select new telecom operators to use the towers for providing the connection and network. He has stated that in the last two years, 21 mobile towers have been stolen, and the total worth of the towers is Rs 2 crore.

“There were 65 mobile towers erected by the company. Some of the towers were out of order during the Covid lockdown. We carried out the audit recently and found that 21 towers had been stolen. The towers include the metal structure and electrical equipment,” said Tikare. Most of these mobile towers are erected on buildings and apartments.

Five criminals on record arrested
The Satara police have caught five criminals on record. These criminals were caught red-handed while attempting a road robbery from Khindwadi to Shivraj Phata along Pune-Bengaluru National Highway 48.

The cops received a tip that a few people had gathered in the forest area along the highway stretch.

The cops recovered two country pistols, four live cartridges, and two sharp knives, totaling Rs 3.03 lakh. ToI