Bus stand goes missing and 5 other bizarre heists in India
Criminals sometimes commit thefts so audacious that one cannot help but feel both shocked and astonished.
In the latest wave of peculiar heists, a bizarre case has emerged from Bengaluru, where a bus stand valued at Rs 10 lakh was stolen from the bustling Cunningham Road.
Unbelievable, right?
- A mere week after its installation in Bengaluru, a bus shelter, complete with its steel framework, valued at Rs 10 lakh, mysteriously vanished.
- This bus shelter, situated on Cunningham Road, fell under the jurisdiction of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).
- After a month had elapsed since its disappearance, N Ravi Reddy, an associate vice-president of the company responsible for constructing BMTC bus shelters in Bengaluru, lodged a complaint on September 30, prompting the police to launch an investigation into the theft case.
But if you thought stealing a bus stand was bizarre, wait until you hear about these other cases. From train engines to mobile towers, here are some items that people have managed to steal, leaving us baffled.
Railway tracks disappear
On January 24, 2023, a peculiar incident of railway track theft was reported in the Samastipur district of Bihar. Yes, you read that right—railway tracks! It was later revealed that approximately 2 kilometers of railway track had been stolen.
In connection with this incident, two employees of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) were suspended, and a father and son were arrested.
The mobile tower caper
November 2022 witnessed another bewildering incident in the Yarpur Rajputana area of Patna, near the Gardnibagh police station. Two thieves made off with a 29-foot mobile tower worth Rs 19 lakh. What's even more astonishing is that these thieves claimed to be employees of the company that owned the tower.
How did they pull it off? Apparently, they dismantled the tower, loaded the materials onto a truck, and made their escape.
Bihar's bridge mystery
In April 2022, a group of individuals, posing as government employees affiliated with the Irrigation Department, used gas-cutting equipment and earthmoving machinery to disassemble a 60-foot steel bridge over the course of three days in the Rohtas area of Bihar.
The train engine heist
In a similarly shocking episode in November 2022, thieves in Bihar stole an entire train's diesel engine from a railway yard in the Begusarai region.
The burglars dug a tunnel to access the yard, where they systematically disassembled the engine piece by piece until they had removed the entire locomotive.
ATM machine robberies
Out of all the incredible thefts, ATM machines are perhaps the most commonly targeted, and that doesn't make their theft any less significant. For example, the latest case of ATM theft occurred on October 3 in Mumbai.
What Happened? An unidentified individual allegedly broke into an ATM belonging to a private sector bank in Naigaon on Friday, September 29, and made off with over Rs 10 lakh.
The incident came to light on Saturday morning when the shutter of the ATM at Star City in Naigaon (east) was discovered pulled down after the theft was committed the previous day.
Which of these heists do you find the most mind-boggling?