Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 22: Police has achieved a significant breakthrough with the arrest of a habitual offender and recovered of 7 stolen vehicles and 26 mobile tower batteries valued at around Rs 35 lakh.
Officials said that on 17 September, police on routine patrol in Pir Bagh Colony, Bathindi, noticed a suspicious individual trying to evade them. When confronted, the suspect, identified as Basharat Mahmood of Rajouri, attacked officers with an iron rod and sprayed a harmful substance into the eyes of Senior Grade Constable Mohd Arshad, injuring him. Despite his resistance, police successfully apprehended him and accordingly, an FIR Number 276/2025 U/S 109/121/123/BNS was registered at Police Station Bahu Fort.
Upon interrogation, Mahmood confessed to multiple vehicle thefts. Recovered vehicles include various models of Alto, a Wagon-R, an Ecco Van, and a scooty, stolen from locations across Jammu and Punjab. In addition, 26 stolen mobile tower batteries were recovered from one of the vehicles.
Authorities described Mahmood as a hardcore habitual offender with 18 FIRs across multiple police stations, noting his previous escape from police custody at the High Court premises. The arrest and recovery will provide relief to telecom service providers and the community, who had faced repeated thefts disrupting essential communication services.
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