Two young men were caught red-handed by local residents during broad daylight on Tuesday while attempting to steal an electrical transformer belonging to the Palli Bidyut Samity in Mirsarai Upazila, under the Chittagong District. The incident took place in Gopinathpur village, situated within the Zorarganj Union of the upazila. The coordinated vigil of the local community successfully prevented the potential theft of critical infrastructure that supplies electricity to the residential and commercial areas of the locality.
Identity of the Detained Suspects
Following their apprehension by the local public, the two individuals were formally identified by the responding law enforcement authorities. The first suspect is Mehedi Hasan Akash, aged 21, who is the son of Iqbal Hossain and a resident of Hajishwarai village, located in the 8th Durgapur Union under the jurisdiction of the Zorarganj Police Station in Mirsarai Upazila.
The second suspect was identified as Sayed Shekh, aged 22, the son of Habib Shekh, who hails from Kandadubi village, located within the Pirojpur Sadar Upazila of Pirojpur District.
According to descriptions provided by local community sources, the incident occurred during the afternoon hours on Tuesday in the Gopinathpur area. The two young men were actively engaged in dismantling and disconnecting an electrical transformer from a roadside utility post belonging to the rural electrification board. Observing this highly unusual activity during the middle of the day, nearby residents grew deeply suspicious and approached the individuals to question their motives.
Deceptive Statements and Verification Process
When confronted by the gathering crowd, the two suspects attempted to evade suspicion by falsely claiming to be official employees of the electricity department on routine maintenance duty. However, their physical behaviour, lack of proper technical equipment, and uncoordinated actions failed to reassure the villagers. Driven by growing doubt, the local residents promptly contacted the regional corporate office of the Palli Bidyut Samity to verify whether any maintenance staff had been legally dispatched to Gopinathpur village.
Upon receiving the urgent query, executive officials from the Palli Bidyut Samity arrived swiftly at the scene of the ongoing incident. The utility officials thoroughly inspected the area, evaluated the credentials of the individuals, and definitively confirmed that neither man was employed by the electrification board. The technical officials formally identified the two individuals as unauthorised persons engaged in the explicit theft of the state-owned transformer.
Police Intervention and Formal Legal Action
Following the official verification by the electricity board staff, the local crowd detained the two suspects at the spot. Law enforcement was quickly notified of the containment, and a dispatch team from the local station was sent to the location. Upon arrival, the police officers took custody of the two young men and transported them, along with the targeted electrical equipment, to the Zorarganj Police Station for formal processing.
The Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Zorarganj Police Station, Abdul Halim, confirmed the details of the arrest to the press, stating that both individuals implicated in the transformer theft had been successfully brought to the station. The head of the station further explained that the police department is currently executing the necessary legal procedures against the detained youths. A formal criminal case is being registered at the police station, and both suspects will be forwarded to the judicial court system for legal hearings once the preliminary documentation is completed.