Two arrested for buying stolen pipes meant for Jal Jeevan Mission works in UP 

Two men have been arrested from the Kanpur Dehat district in connection with buying stolen pipes meant for works under the Jal Jeevan Mission, police said in a statement on Tuesday.

On April 27, a police team in Chitrakoot arrested Gurmeet Singh and Niyaz Ahmad, who were allegedly involved in stealing ductile iron pipes used in the Jal Jeevan Mission, and seized around 50 pipes loaded in a truck.

The accused had told the police that the stolen pipes were sold from a factory in Kanpur Dehat.

On May 22, when a police team raided a company in the Rania Industrial Area of Kanpur Dehat district, they found ductile iron pipes of different lengths and diameters, the police said and added that the factory officials could not present any bills regarding the pipes.

The arrested pair has been identified as factory owner Brijkishor Gupta and Aman Rajput alias Shrigopal, a worker, the statement said.

"Most ductile iron pipes meant for use in the Jal Jeevan Mission are lying unsupervised along the highway in various parts of Bundelkhand. These pipes are loaded onto trucks at night and taken to a factory called Delite Enterprises Private Limited in the Rania Industrial Area in Kanpur Dehat.

"The factory buys these brand new pipes from the thieves at the rate of scrap, approximately Rs 30 per kilogramme, cuts off the portion of the pipes that has the Jal Jeevan Mission engraving on it, adds its own flenches and engraving, and resells the pipes at full price of around Rs 110 per kilogramme," the police said.

The portion of the factory, which otherwise manufactures plastic pipes, where this illegal activity was being carried out has been sealed, they said.