Drug addict held for stealing copper coils of split ACs

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 6

With the arrest of a drug addict, a special team of the police has solved six cases of theft of copper coils of split ACs.

The police said a huge quantity of copper coils had been recovered from the possession of Sunny Kumar, alias Sunny, who resides at the taxi stand near the ISBT, Sector 17.

In a complainant to the police, Pritpal Singh, a resident of Sector 36-D, stated that there was some problem in ACs installed on the roof of the third floor of his residence. On April 10, when he checked the ACs, he found that copper coils of the ACs were missing.

In another case, the same complainant reported that on the intervening night of June 21 and 22, some unknown person had stolen 8 AC copper coils from the roof of his house.

During interrogation, the suspect revealed that he was a drug addict and he was a nomadic person and does not have any permanent address. To fulfil his lust of consuming drugs, he started committing thefts and specially targeted AC copper coils. After stealing the coils, he used to sell these to street vendors.

The suspect disclosed that he used to search for easy targets in the evening by wandering in the residential area of various sectors. He used to do a recce between 4 pm and 5 pm and finalise the target by 7 pm to 8 pm. He chose houses that have ACs installed on their roofs and are also adjoining to outer roads so that he could make easy escape after stealing copper coils from the outdoor units of ACs.

Later, he used to sleep in the adjoining parks or footpaths nearby the targeted houses. During late night hours, between 2 am and 4 am, he used to enter the house and steal AC copper coils.

In a case, he was convicted and was released from the judicial custody recently.

He confessed that he had committed about two dozens of copper coil thefts throughout Chandigarh.