Ahmedabad police catch men who stole black gold worth Rs85 lakhs

The Rapid Response Cell (RR Cell) of Ahmedabad Range caught hold of three men who were allegedly involved in oil thefts for many years. Petrol and kerosene worth Rs85 lakh had been siphoned off by the gang from three places — Gurgaon, Palwal in Haryana and Bharatpur in Rajasthan, said the police.

Living in Ahmedabad for quite some time, the arrested persons have been identified as Rajesh alias Raju Patel, a resident of Shivsukh Society, Amraiwadi, Mohammad Sufian alias Babloo Liyaqat Ali, originally from Bulandshahar (UP) and Avanish alias Bhura Yadav from Mainpuri (UP).

"The trio had punctured a pipeline of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in Palwal with the help of locals and stole four tankers of oil. Thereafter, they struck at an IOC pipeline in Gurgaon and pilfered two tankers of diesel and four tankers of kerosene. They used to sell off the oil in Delhi," said Ashish Bhatia, Inspector General, Ahmedabad Range.

Last year they fled away with three tankers of oil from the IOC pipeline in Bharatpur, Rajasthan said Bhatia. Rajesh alias Raju Patel had been taken into custody several times for similar offences in Adalaj, Kadi, Kanbha, Aslali and Kheda among other places,  he added.

Police have seized a four-wheeler and equipments which were used to perforate the pipelines. The concerned police stations have reportedly been informed about the gang's arrest.