BUXAR / PATNA — In a bizarre crime that sounds more like a Hollywood script than a local police blotter, thieves in Bihar have pulled off the ultimate infrastructure heist. An entire 40-metre (132-foot) mobile telecom tower, alongside a heavy-duty 15 KVA diesel generator and thousands of rupees worth of specialized equipment, has completely vanished from a residential area in Dumraon town.

The audacity of the crime has left both local residents and law enforcement scratching their heads. It marks yet another entry into Bihar’s growing catalog of unbelievable, large-scale infrastructure thefts.

The Discovery: An Empty Plot

The breathtaking theft came to light when an operational team from GTL Infrastructure Limited arrived at Ward No. 18 in Dumraon for a routine inspection. The tower, originally installed in 2010, had been non-operational for several years due to technical reasons, and the company was finally visiting to reactivate it.

Instead of a massive steel structure dominating the skyline, officials were greeted by an entirely empty plot of land. Stunned by the sight, Baijnath Ojha, the company’s land and operations officer, immediately rushed to the Dumraon Police Station to file a formal complaint.

The Anatomy of a Multi-Day Operation

While minor thefts involving copper cables, backup batteries, or electronic chips are commonplace across the country, stealing an entire telecom tower requires a completely different echelon of criminal planning.

Investigators and local police note several shocking elements of the heist:

Heavy Machinery Required: Dismantling a 132-foot steel structure safely without collapsing it onto neighboring homes would require industrial-grade gas cutters, earth-moving machinery, and specialized cranes.
The Invisible Workforce: Police suspect a highly organized gang with technical expertise operating over several consecutive days.
Boldly Unnoticed: Despite being located right in the middle of a bustling residential area, and surprisingly close to the local police station, the gang managed to completely cart away tonnes of metal and a massive generator without raising a single red flag.

The Rent Dispute Plot Twist

As police dug deeper into how a giant tower could disappear in broad daylight, a complex civil dispute emerged. The tower stood on land belonging to a local resident, Harinath Yadav.

Yadav revealed to authorities that his 12-year lease agreement with GTL Infrastructure expired in 2022. He alleged that the company had completely stopped paying him rent as far back as 2017. Despite sending four formal legal notices to the company demanding the removal of the dead equipment and settlement of dues, Yadav claims he never received a response.

While Yadav has strictly denied any knowledge or role in the theft, local police are actively investigating whether the “heist” is an escalation of this ongoing rent dispute or if an outside scrap-metal syndicate capitalized on the abandoned site.

Police Crackdown: First Breakthrough

Following the registration of the First Information Report (FIR), Bihar Police launched a swift investigation led by Dumraon Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Polast Kumar.

The police have already secured their first major breakthrough. During targeted raids based on local intelligence, the missing 15 KVA diesel generator was successfully recovered. Authorities have identified two primary suspects orchestrating the theft; one has been detained for rigorous questioning, while active raids are underway to track down the second suspect and recover the dismantled steel remnants of the tower.

A Pattern of Audacious Thievery

For locals, the case brings back an uncanny sense of déjà vu. Bihar is no stranger to criminal groups targeting massive engineering structures.

In 2022, a notorious gang posing as irrigation department officials used gas cutters and JCBs to completely dismantle and steal a 60-foot-long, 500-tonne historic iron bridge in Rohtas district over a three-day period.
Later that same year, thieves systematically unbolted and stole a vintage railway locomotive engine piece-by-piece from a yard in Begusarai.

With a bridge, a train engine, and now a 132-foot mobile tower on the list of missing items, Bihar’s thieves continue to prove that if it can be unbolted, it can be stolen. The investigation continues.