BIG CATCH: Police officials with the members of the inter-State gang in Nizamabad on Tuesday.

NIZAMABAD: The Dichpally police in Nizamabad district on Tuesday apprehended nine of 13 members of the notorious inter-State gang which indulged in transformer coil theft cases. The rest have been absconding.

According to Superintendent of Police Mahesh Chandra Laddha, gang leader Guldeem Khan Patan, based in Suratis a scrap dealer.

On reaping profits by selling copper coils, he formed a gang with his friends Aslam Khan and Mustak Khan from Uttar Pradesh and some other accomplices to steal copper coils.

During the Gujarat riots they migrated to Bodhan in the district as Khan brothers' relative, Raj Khan, has been residing in the town.

The gang later opened a scrap shop at Bodhan.

Modus operandi

Gang leader Guldeem Khan used to visit agriculture fields to collect information about location of transformers.

The modus operandi was that they used to keep a Maruti car on the roadside and also three two-wheelers nearby. After disconnecting the power supply to the transformers, they would break open the transformer.

They would flee the scene in vehicles with the coils.

The gang broke open 58 transformers and took away copper coils worth

Rs.3.68 lakhs in the district.

The police recovered Rs.23,000, one Maruti car and three two-wheelers from them.

The accused persons - Guldeem Khan Patan, Raj Khan, Saddam Patan, Munesh Aswal, Aslam Khan, Mustak Khan, Javeed Khan, Zakeer and Asif Khan were remanded and efforts are on to nab Yousuf, Azam, Zakeeria and Jubeer.

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