New Delhi, May 27 (PTI) Thirteen members of a gang have been arrested for their alleged involvement in stealing underground MTNL cable in Delhi’s Rohini, police said on Tuesday.

A JCB machine and about 10 kgs of stolen cables have been recovered from them, they said.

On the intervening night of April 6 and 7, Pankaj (21), Lucky (18) and Abhishek (18) were caught red-handed while digging and stealing the cables in Sector 9 of Rohini, the police said in a statement.

Giving details of the arrest, they said that a team noticed suspicious activity involving a JCB machine and several people digging near MTNL infrastructure. On being questioned, the men failed to give a satisfactory explanation, so the team detained them.

During interrogation, they disclosed the names of their gang members, leading to the arrest of 10 more people, according to the statement.

The gang used a JCB machine to unearth underground cables and extract valuable wire, which was then sold to scrap dealers, the police said, adding that the group was involved in several similar thefts across Rohini.

JCB operator Hasrat Ali (28), kingpin Samiuddin Khan (34), coordinator Akash(30) and Taj Mohammad (45), a receiver of stolen property were subsequently nabbed, the police said.

Other accused are Shakib (37), Sarwar Alam, Deepak, Shamser (35), Aavesh Khan Ali, and scrap dealer Amit, they said.

Multiple FIRs linked to similar thefts have also been worked out during the investigation. Further investigation is underway, they added. PTI BM NB