Man supplying illegal water tankers sets fire to rival’s office in Gurugram

Sominder Sehrawat, a Dhankot village resident, delivers water tankers to residential areas and construction sites along the Dwarka Expressway

Updated on: Jul 26, 2023, 23:35:26 IST

By Leena Dhankhar

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A private contractor who supplied illegal water tankers to residential areas along the Dwarka Expressway was booked for allegedly setting fire to the office of his business rival -- another private water supplier, police officers familiar with the matter said on Monday, adding that the incident was the result of a battle for supremacy in the water tanker business.

Officials believe the water mafia is tampering with the pipeline to cripple supply and force residents to pay exorbitant fees for water tankers and packaged water. (Representational Image)

Sominder Sehrawat, a Dhankot village resident, has been delivering water tankers to residential areas and construction sites along the Dwarka Expressway for many years. He has a tube well on his property and supplies water to at least 50 regions every day. “He has set up his office near the tube well and operates from there,” said Praveen Kumar, station house officer of Rajendra Park police station.

On Monday night, a fire broke out at his office while it was closed, and some labourers were sleeping nearby. “When the fire broke out, labourers slept in the many hutments built behind his office. They extinguished the fire and informed Sehrawat, who arrived and called the police,” Kumar added.

Sehrawat said that when he reviewed the CCTV footage of his office, he was astounded to see his competitor carrying a can, pouring it on his office, and lighting it on fire. “I saw in the video that a car stopped near my office around 10.40pm, and four people got out, poured a flammable substance, and set fire to my office. The culprits are also in the same business as me and were threatening me to give up my business and shut down the water supply,” he said.

A first information report was registered underrelevant sections of the Indian Penal Code at Rajendra Park police station.

Tanker operators operate from private farmlands in the city’s villages, where illegal borewells sucking out groundwater are monitored by musclemen. According to the police, this operation is entirely unlawful.According to police, they will also book the complainant after a preliminary investigation.

In June, the Haryana Space Applications Centre (Harsac) prepared data on 20 sites at 39 locations where pipelines were damaged, causing a supply shortage in several residential areas, including Gurugram’s Dwarka Expressway, over the previous month.

Officials believe the water mafia is tampering with the pipeline to cripple supply and force residents to pay exorbitant fees for water tankers and packaged water.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Leena Dhankhar
Leena Dhankhar is Senior Editor and Bureau Chief, Gurugram, at Hindustan Times, where she has spent over 17 years chronicling the transformation of one of India's fastest-growing urban regions. From starting her career as a crime reporter to leading the Gurugram bureau, her journalism has been defined by investigative reporting, in-depth storytelling and an unwavering focus on public interest. Over nearly two decades, she has reported extensively across crime, politics, civic governance, elections, real estate, environment, courts, sports, education and entertainment, covering Gurugram, Faridabad, Nuh and Palwal. Her reporting has exposed several major scams and systemic failures, including insurance frauds, waste management irregularities, illegal arms manufacturing units in Nuh, illegal mining in the Aravallis, organised crime networks and governance lapses affecting millions of residents. Known for her investigative work and exclusive stories, Leena has reported on high-impact national issues, including the Nicaragua charter flight carrying Indian migrants that was turned back amid allegations of human trafficking, exposing the growing network of illegal immigration rackets. Her work has also focused on gang wars, prison administration, juvenile crime, women and child protection systems, the functioning of the Juvenile Justice Board and Child Welfare Committee, and environmental challenges such as pollution, waterlogging and deteriorating civic infrastructure. Beyond hard news, Leena has extensively documented Haryana's rich heritage, forests and wildlife, bringing attention to the state's historical landmarks, biodiversity, conservation efforts and ecological challenges through immersive reportage and feature writing. Her journalism has consistently gone beyond breaking news. She has documented Gurugram's rapid urbanisation through long-form narratives and enterprise reporting on issues ranging from pothole-ridden roads, flooding and waste management to the changing social fabric of India's Millennium City. She also writes widely read feature columns, including The Outsider, Changemaker, and Concern for Gurugram, profiling people, places and ideas shaping the city's identity. Leena is the author of Gurugram School Murder, published by Juggernaut Books, a deeply reported account of one of India's most high-profile school murder investigations. She is currently working on her second book, an investigative work exploring some of India's most significant scams and fraud investigations. Beyond print journalism, she has expanded her storytelling through public speaking and digital media. She is a TEDx speaker and has produced podcasts exploring Gurugram's transformation, civic challenges and untold stories. Her work reflects a commitment to narrative journalism that combines rigorous reporting with compelling storytelling. A law graduate with an MBA in Human Resources, Leena brings a multidisciplinary perspective to her reporting, particularly on governance, public policy and legal affairs. She has travelled extensively across India to pursue investigative assignments, often reporting from remote locations and conflict-prone areas in search of stories that matter.Read More