A relentless wave of infrastructure theft has plunged rural households into prolonged darkness across Madarganj upazila, Jamalpur, where organised gangs have stolen at least 26 electricity transformers within a period of just two months. The targeted thefts have disrupted daily life, ignited widespread public anger, and exposed severe vulnerabilities in the local power distribution network.
The crime spree, which began escalating on 2 July, has systematically dismantled key components of the distribution grid operated under the Madarganj Zonal Office of the Palli Bidyut Samity. Official records reveal a sharp upward trajectory in the incidents: six transformers were dismantled and stolen in July, 17 during August, and another three within the first five days of September alone. The cumulative financial loss from the hardware is estimated at approximately £11,000 (1.7 million BDT), though the economic damage to local businesses and households remains significantly higher.
Local residents strongly suspect the criminal syndicate is capitalising on scheduled load-shedding and unscheduled power cuts to strike under the cover of night. The uncanny timing of the raids has raised serious questions among victims, who suspect the perpetrators may be receiving insider information regarding power outage schedules and grid status. Community members have called for a formal investigation into electricity staff to determine whether operational data is being leaked to facilitate the thefts.
The primary motive behind the targeting of these pole-mounted distribution units is the retrieval of high-purity copper coils and other valuable metallic components contained inside the casings. Stripping the devices allows criminals to resell the raw metal rapidly on the black market.
The human cost of these criminal acts is particularly acute in underprivileged neighbourhoods. Under standard rural electrification rules, affected customers are required to bear half the replacement cost for a stolen transformer. Should a replacement unit be stolen a second time, the full financial burden falls entirely upon the local subscribers. Following the theft of a transformer at the Grabergram shelter project on 29 August, 40 low-income families have been left without electricity because they simply cannot raise the required funds for a replacement unit.
In response to the growing crisis, Syeda Farzana Yasmin, Deputy General Manager of the Madarganj Palli Bidyut Zonal Office, confirmed that police complaints have been filed for the 28 total incidents recorded this year, alongside efforts to raise community awareness. Meanwhile, Officer-in-Charge Snehashish Roy of Madarganj Model Police Station stated that a specialised task force has been deployed, with enhanced night-time patrolling to track down the network responsible. Madarganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sumon Chowdhury stressed that both law enforcement and power utility officials must tighten operational security, particularly regarding the handling and dissemination of load-shedding schedules.
