Man digs up his land to steal oil from Indian Oil pipeline in Delhi, held

An incident of oil theft from the Delhi-Panipat section of an IOCL pipeline was reported by the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Northern Region, said police

A 52-year-old man was arrested for allegedly stealing oil from the pipeline of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) in southwest Delhi’s Dwarka area, police said on Friday. The accused had dug up a portion of the land -- barely 40 metre away from the pipeline -- from where he would allegedly extract oil, and then cover it with fodder.

When police visited the spot, they found a pile of fodder and when it was removed, it could be seen that a portion had been dug out in square shape. (HT Photo)

Read here: 52-year-old man arrested for stealing oil from IOCL pipeline in Delhi

Deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka) Harsha Vardhan said that the accused has been identified as Rakesh Kumar, a resident of Pochanpur village. Police said that he is the owner of the plot of land that was dug up.

An incident of oil theft from the Delhi-Panipat section of an IOCL pipeline was reported by the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Northern Region, said police. “IOCL reported that on September 29, they performed inspection and it was found that oil theft was likely be happening from the area of Pochanpur village,” said DCP Vardhan.

Police have arrested the land owner and the prime suspects who stole the oil are still at large. Investigators are yet to unearth the entire nexus. Police said that what and how the accused did with the stolen oil will be ascertained only after they are arrested. However, it’s suspected that they sold it for monetary gains.

The police have registered a case under various sections of the Petroleum and Minerals Pipelines (Acquisition of Right of User in Land) Act, 1962 and the Indian Penal Code, the DCP said.

A police officer aware of the matter said that for the last few years, the IOCL has been installing high-pressure oil pipelines with sensors so that they can ascertain when and where the pressure drops. This, police said, helps them contain and identify cases of oil theft.

When police visited the spot, they found a pile of fodder and when it was removed, it could be seen that a portion had been dug out in square shape. It was further found that the accused had drilled into the IOCL pipeline, and then using a valve mechanism, a plastic pipe was inserted in the pipeline, the DCP said.

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When the place where the pipeline was laid was excavated, it was found that a machine for extracting oil by drilling holes in the oil pipeline was installed at the spot, to which two plastic pipes were connected, police said. “Further probe revealed that the pipe was laid in an underground tunnel dug by the accused. Rakesh is being interrogated and efforts are being made to nab the whole group,” Vardhan said. Instruments used in commission of crime have been recovered, said police.