According to police, the accused used to remove 1 to 5kg gas from every cylinder and refill empty cylinders and sell them illegally to people
Sixteen people were arrested by sleuths of Special Operation Team, Crime Branch, for allegedly stealing gas at one of the LPG agencies in Navapura on Wednesday.
Raiding Radhika gas agency, the sleuths found that the accused were stealing the gas from the cylinders due to be delivered to customers. The accused were transferring the gas to empty cylinders and selling them on the black market.
According to police, the accused used to remove 1 to 5kg gas from every cylinder and refill empty cylinders and sell them illegally to people, especially running food stalls and people living on rent. The profits would later split among the accused. According to the cops, 500 out of 600 cylinders were refilled.
The cops have seized around Rs33 lakh worth of gas cylinders from the agency. Primary investigation revealed that the agency belonged to one Radhika, a resident of Chota Udaipur. The cops will take her statement soon. Police suspect that authorities are also involved in the racket. The process of refilling the cylinders used to take place in the godown of the gas agency only with the help of the custom-made equipment.
The accused have been identified as Inayat Malik, Dharmesh Chauhan, Satish Chauhan, Harsh Parmar, Dilip Chauhan, Vishnu Chauhan, Suriyaprakash Jawa, Surendra Khichi, Khadar Arab, Madanlal , Subhag Manju, Kashim Arab, Subhesh Khichad, Mangilal Khichad, Akram Arab and Poonam Khava.
HM Chauhan, in-charge PSI of SOG Vadodara, said, "We got a tip-off about the racket around two days ago. We had put a watch in the area and confirmed it, following which we raided the place and nabbed the accused."
CRIME SHEET
- According to police, the accused used to remove 1 to 5kg gas from every cylinder and refill empty cylinders and sell them illegally to people.
- Primary investigation revealed that the agency belonged to one Radhika, a resident of Chota Udaipur. The cops will take her statement.
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