Sikkim telecom gear worth Rs 22 lakh stolen in suspected organised theft

A large-scale theft involving telecom infrastructure has been reported in Malli Payong, South Sikkim, where equipment valued at over Rs 22 lakh was stolen from a tower site operated by GTL Infrastructure Ltd.

The missing items include a diesel generator, air conditioner, shelter unit, switch-mode power supply (SMPS), and other related materials—all essential to maintaining telecom services in the area.

The site, located on land owned by Dambar Biswakarma, came under scrutiny after GTL’s project team discovered the equipment had vanished. The company confirmed it had issued no No Objection Certificate (NOC) for any removal or dismantling of equipment.

GTL executive Anand Mangrati, who is based in Darjeeling and oversees infrastructure and capacity management, filed a petition with the Chief Judicial Magistrate of South Sikkim, urging authorities to treat the incident as a formal criminal case.

Following the court's direction, Melli Police Station registered an FIR—Case No. 11/2025—under IPC Sections 447 (criminal trespass) and 380 (theft in a dwelling house, etc.). Investigators are treating the theft as a potentially organised operation due to the scale and technical nature of the equipment involved.

Early findings suggest the removal may have occurred over several days, possibly with local assistance or internal knowledge. Police have begun interviewing nearby residents and landowners while looking into whether forged documents were used to facilitate the theft.