📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Sukhwinder_singh_sukh_Dumalla's_King
Crime
Villagers Nab Suspect in Barnala Transformer Theft After Recovery Trucks Stuck in Mud
✍️ NDTV Top
🗓 24 Aug 2026, 06:39 AM
👁 3
In Barnala district, Punjab, locals apprehended Lovepreet Singh of Alkada village after a botched transformer theft left a vehicle and a recovery truck mired in mud, and handed him over to police.
A group of villagers in Alkada, a settlement in Barnala district of Punjab, intervened after a stolen transformer caused a vehicle to become stuck in a muddy field. The theft, which appears to have been part of a larger illegal metal‑scrap operation, resulted in the offender's car sinking deep into the soft ground.
When a recovery truck arrived to pull the stranded vehicle, it too lost traction and sank, further complicating the situation. Residents quickly gathered, using local tools and manpower to prevent the scene from worsening and to secure the area.
During the commotion, the villagers identified and detained the alleged thief, identified as Lovepreet Singh of Alkala village. They handed him over to the nearest police outpost, where officials began a preliminary investigation into the theft and the broader issue of transformer pilferage in the region.
When a recovery truck arrived to pull the stranded vehicle, it too lost traction and sank, further complicating the situation. Residents quickly gathered, using local tools and manpower to prevent the scene from worsening and to secure the area.
During the commotion, the villagers identified and detained the alleged thief, identified as Lovepreet Singh of Alkala village. They handed him over to the nearest police outpost, where officials began a preliminary investigation into the theft and the broader issue of transformer pilferage in the region.