Greater Noida: Site Engineer Held for Orchestrating Aluminium Wire Theft at Jewar Airport Construction Site; Four Arrested, Canter Seized

In a major breakthrough, the Ecotech-1 police station in Greater Noida has busted a theft racket operating inside the under-construction Jewar International Airport site. A site engineer, along with three accomplices, has been arrested for stealing aluminium cables worth nearly ₹15 lakh from the project area.

According to ADCP Sudhir Kumar, the arrests were made during a police checking drive on Wednesday night. The accused were caught transporting stolen aluminium wire bundles in a canter fitted with a fake number plate. Seven large bundles of cables were recovered along with a Swift car used in the operation.

Key Accused Identified

The arrested individuals include:

• Shivam Sharma, Site Engineer, Tata Projects Ltd., resident of Lalpur, Tapal (Aligarh)
• Irshad Ahmed, driver, resident of Siddharthnagar
• Mohammad Siraj, helper
• Izhar alias Sonu, a scrap dealer currently living in Sonia Vihar, Delhi

Police revealed that the engineer played a central role in the operation. He allegedly facilitated the theft by marking usable airport cables as “scrap,” allowing the accused to smuggle them out in a canter. The scrap dealer, Izhar, purchased the stolen material from the group.

Inside Job Exposed

Investigations show that this was not the first incident involving the site engineer. Shivam Sharma had previously arranged the theft of nearly 10 tonnes of steel (saria) from the airport premises, which was sold for approximately ₹2.5 lakh. Police also suspect the involvement of other staff members and are conducting further inquiries.

Modus Operandi

• Cables were falsely declared as scrap
• Loaded in a canter with a forged number plate
• Site engineer supervised the movement and followed the vehicle in a car
• Material was delivered to a scrap dealer for illegal sale

Investigation Continues

Police are verifying records and questioning additional employees who may be linked to the theft network. Authorities have tightened security checks at the construction site to prevent further internal theft incidents.

This high-profile case underscores the vulnerability of large infrastructure projects to insider involvement and highlights the need for stricter monitoring and accountability at such strategic sites.