Ranchi, July 15: A suspected street light theft racket has surfaced in Ranchi’s Ward No. 41, where individuals are alleged to have posed as Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) maintenance staff to remove street lights from public poles.
The incident came to light after local residents reported suspicious activity near Gandhi Ashram on Tuesday.
Acting on the information, Ward Councillor Neelam Chaudhary reached the spot and, with the help of residents, detained a man who was allegedly carrying two street light fixtures in a bag.
The matter was immediately reported to the local police and the Ranchi Municipal Corporation.
According to residents, the suspected thieves arrived in a vehicle equipped with a ladder, creating the impression that they were authorised municipal workers carrying out repair work.
They allegedly removed street lights from electric poles under the guise of maintenance before leaving the area unnoticed.
The councillor claimed that nearly 25 street lights have gone missing from the ward over the past few months.
Residents had initially believed that the lights had been removed by the municipal maintenance team.
However, municipal officials reportedly clarified that their teams only repair faulty street lights and do not remove installed lighting fixtures.
The councillor also alleged that the detained individual had links to an associate of a former ward councillor and called for a detailed investigation into the matter.
The allegation, however, has not been independently verified, and no response from the former councillor was available at the time of reporting.
Police have begun an inquiry into the incident to determine whether an organised gang is involved in the thefts.
Authorities are also expected to examine previous cases of missing street lights in the ward and identify others who may be connected to the alleged racket.
The investigation is underway, and officials are expected to take further action based on the findings.
