BSNL cable theft sabotage?

Mohit Khanna 

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 19

In a serious case of sabotage before the verdict in the rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the landline services of the official residences of the Punjab and Haryana Chief Ministers, Punjab Police Headquarters and the PGI were disrupted following the theft of underground cables. 

Jatinder Mahajan, Deputy General Manager, BSNL Chandigarh circle, said as many as 2,000 connections, including  the landlines services of the PGI, had been snapped. 

Besides, the internet service had also been disrupted. He maintained that it was a clear case of sabotage as only landlines services of crucial establishments had been targeted. Mahajan said the department was working overtime to restore the services through alternative channels. 

He said the matter had been brought to the knowledge of the police. Later, the police visited the spot and inspected the place, from where the cables had been stolen.  

Majahan said the incident took place near the MLA hostels in Sector 4 on the intervening night of August 18 and 19. 

HS Dhillon, SDO, cable maintenance wing of the BSNL said, “It is not a theft, it’s a dacoity. Five cables, each measuring 100 m, were stolen. We have never witnessed such a theft. We cannot rule out the involvement of anti-social elements who wanted to create tension before the verdict. The police have been informed about the matter,” said Dhillon. 

He added that such a long cable could not be removed without the involvement of 20 persons and an earth-moving machine. And, it would have taken nearly two hours to pull out the cables.

Incident exposed fragile security of police

The theft of cables has laid bare the fragile security of the Chandigarh Police. The cables were stolen from such high-security areas and the police didn’t get a whiff of it.