Battery-run CCTV camera foils the 'perfect' theft

AHMEDABAD: Eleven security guards hired by an industrial unit in Sanand GIDC to protect the premises, themselves turned thieves and stole submersible pumps worth Rs 4 lakh. Deciding to take advantage of the Diwali holidays when the factory was closed for five days, they allegedly crafted an elaborate plan which involved switching off the power supply and CCTV cameras to avoid getting caught in the act. However, they didn't expect a battery-run camera to expose what they thought was a perfect plan. After investigation by security agency heads, a complaint was filed against the 11 with Sanand police.

The complaint was filed by Vijay Kushwaha, 48, a resident of Hansol, and an employee of the security agency which provided the guards to Varuna Electrics in Sanand GIDC, which manufactures submersible pumps.

On Nov 5, the company's chief security officer Vishwanath Singh called up Kushwaha telling him that 21 submersible pumps had been stolen from the unit.

According to the complaint, the security agency's regional head Praharash Vachhrajani and investigation head, Zakir Khan, began an inquiry into the theft. Their investigation found that the unit had 71 pumps on its premises before it closed on Oct 30, a day before Diwali.

When the factory reopened on Nov 5, 21 were missing. When the agency heads tried accessing CCTV footage, they found that on Nov 1, all cameras had been switched off around 3.40am and were switched back on around 5.30am, the police complaint states.

There was no headway until it was found that a battery-operated CCTV camera had captured one of the security guards, named Mahendra Dabhi, stealing a box containing a submersible pump. Vachhrajani and Khan's questioning of Dabhi and other guards revealed that all 11 had banded together to plan the theft and positioned themselves at their respective spots in the factory after executing their plan.

Sanand GIDC police have launched an investigation.