Durg–Bhilai police say their probe into an organised network that stole scrap from Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) has uncovered property and jewellery bought with proceeds from the thefts, and the case has widened after key arrests. Three suspects whose seven-day police remand ended on Monday were produced in court and sent to judicial custody, officials said.

The operation dates to a raid on May 26, when officers acting on a tip-off searched AK Traders in Hathkhoj area of Bhilai and found large consignments of suspicious scrap loaded in trucks and hiwas — heavy iron plates, beam cuttings and other industrial scrap that matched materials missing from BSP, police said. Subsequent searches led to the seizure of about 250 tonnes of scrap; police estimate its market value at roughly Rs 90 lakh and put the total assets seized, including vehicles and machinery, at about Rs 3.22 crore.

Interrogation of the main accused, identified as Sanjay Singh, reportedly revealed that the illicit proceeds were invested in land, houses and gold and silver jewellery. A locker belonging to the alleged mastermind was searched and jewellery worth about Rs 50 lakh and documents linked to property worth nearly Rs 3 crore were recovered, police said.

Investigators told reporters they reconstructed the scene by taking suspects to the route from Khursipar Gate to SMS‑3, where scrap had been consolidated and loaded for transport. During the exercise officers also seized vehicles fitted with fake number plates, which were allegedly used to move the stolen material to the market, the statement said.

The case has already produced a growing list of arrests. Police had previously arrested nine suspects and sent them to jail; Sanjay Singh was arrested later from Deoria in Uttar Pradesh after a targeted search and was handed a seven‑day remand on June 16. Further questioning led to the arrests of Amit Sharma (aka Kailash Sharma) and Aakash Kumar Singh, police said. In all, authorities say 12 accused have now been detained in connection with the ring.

Durg district police said they are now mapping the accused’s investments — bank accounts, land records and properties — and preparing seizure (attachment) orders where appropriate. “We are scrutinising financial trails to recover proceeds of crime and will take legal steps to attach illicitly acquired assets,” an officer said.

Why it matters: the operation exposed how organised theft at an industrial plant can be converted quickly into legitimate‑looking assets, widening the harm beyond the immediate loss of material. Large-scale scrap theft from manufacturing hubs can disrupt supply chains, damage plant operations and create a market for crime proceeds that corrupts local trade.

What police will do next: officers said forensic accounting of seized assets and ongoing interrogation aim to trace the full network, identify buyers of stolen scrap and determine whether any plant insiders were complicit. The probe will determine whether further property attachments and criminal charges — including for organised theft, fraud and use of forged documents — are warranted.