The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has identified its own Havildar Shanker Prasad and constable K N Yadav as culprits in the theft of copper wire from the premises of a Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) Ltd plant. While Prasad was arrested and remanded to judicial custody on Monday, a manhunt has been launched for Yadav who has disappeared.With a strength of about 500 personnel, the CISF is in charge of the security at HEC’s three plants—FFP, HMTP and HMBP (a hospital and a training institute)—spread over an area of 5 square km.At around 11 pm on Friday, Prasad and Yadav entered the institute’s workshop and removed about 20 kg of copper wire worth Rs 12,000. Subsequently, they began to unbolt an electric motor. “In the process, they dropped its lid creating noise. Constables who were on duty there informed senior personnel. While Prasad was detained, Yadav managed to escape,” said a CISF Inspector on condition of anonymity.DIG (CISF) J D Sagar told The Indian Express that the absconding culprit would be nabbed soon and added that his organisation was concerned over the theft of copper cable wire and was planning to review its strategy to contain crime inside the HEC, a sick PSU. This incident, however, is the latest in a series of thefts that has the PSU bleeding in terms of losses running into crores. The Central force claimed that many a time HEC employees indulged in thefts and blamed the same on its staff.
