It's absolutely a thing, even in developed countries people will steal cabling for scrap metal, even if it's getting rarer. Copper roofs on very old churches are also commonly stolen for scrap value.

The issue is that you didn't mention fabric / fashion in your first comment, and nobody can read your mind.

Your initial comment came across as saying you just didn't believe that people steal metal.

The parent comment was "my dad used to tell me this story", "in rural India in the 60s"

It wasn't about not believing the possibility, it was about noticing how I heard a similar story which featured association and no source, and identifying that this is the same way that all urban legends exist. I also said "or maybe I have been missing an entrepreneurial opportunity" completely, and clearly saying that I am open to believing when referencable information was provided, which it immediately was by the first response while ironically villifying me instead of leaving it at the educational moment.