Udupi: Udupi Town police have arrested two men in connection with the theft of copper pipes and fittings worth lakhs from the under-construction Government Hospital at Ajjarkad.
Police said copper pipes, fittings, and old copper strips stored for oxygen pipeline installation went missing. CCTV footage showed that on July 20, 2025, Liyaqat and an accomplice loaded the materials—worth around ₹8 lakh—into a car and drove off. A case was registered following a complaint.
Based on a tip-off, a special police team led by inspector Manjunath V. Badiger nabbed the suspects on August 12 in Shivamogga city. The arrested have been identified as Mohammad Javeed (29) of Vidyanagar, Bengaluru, and Syed Dada Peer alias Liyaqat (28) of Park Moholla, Shira town, Tumakuru district.
Police recovered copper pipe pieces valued at ₹2,81,000, a Maruti Swift Dzire, and an Excel moped used in the crime. The total value of seized property is estimated at ₹6,31,500.
The operation was conducted under the supervision of SP Hariram Shankar, with guidance from additional SP Sudhakar Naik and DySP D. T. Prabhu. Inspector Badiger was assisted by PSIs Eeranna Shiragumpi, Bharatesh Kankanawadi, Narayana B. Gopalakrishna, staff members Prasanna C., Santosh Shetty, Anand, Santosh Rathod, Shivu Kumar, Hemant Kumar, and technical team members Dinesh and Nithin Kumar.