A disturbing incident has come to light from Mumbai’s eastern suburbs, where power theft gangs have been found using minor children to illegally tap electricity from a substation. Children aged between 10 and 15 years were allegedly paid ₹500 and sent inside a high-risk electrical substation, putting their lives in grave danger.
The racket was busted by the Assistant Manager of Adani Electricity, who, along with his team, caught two minor boys red-handed while they were making illegal connections inside the Mankhurd Shivshahi Power Substation. The boys were handed over to Trombay Police.
During questioning, the children revealed that a local gang from the Mankhurd area was behind the organised power theft. Based on their statements, Trombay Police registered a case against four persons, including three women—Shabana Shyam Waranpure alias Shabbo, Manjula Khandangale, Sahil, and Jubina.
According to police sources, the gang had been illegally drawing electricity from poles connected to the Shivshahi Substation, which supplies power to several parts of the eastern suburbs. Assistant Manager Saurabh Rathod from Adani Electricity’s Tilak Nagar office had received information about large-scale unauthorised tapping in the area and set up a trap to catch the culprits.
During the operation, Rathod’s team spotted the two minors performing illegal connections and detained them on the spot. The children confessed that the four accused regularly sent minors into the substation after paying them ₹500 for each illegal connection.
Police recorded the children’s details—including name, age, and address—and later handed them over to their parents. A case of electricity theft has been registered against the four accused.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that the gang is responsible for electricity theft amounting to approximately ₹42 lakh from the Shivshahi Substation. When contacted for an update on arrests, the Senior Inspector of Trombay Police Station declined to comment.