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Theft from HPCL tankers in Lucknow: Gang replaced fuel with chemical, had ‘protection’
The gang stole from tankers departing the HPCL depot in Lucknow. It would then replace fuel with a similar looking chemical sourced from Unnao
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The recent arrest of five members of a gang that stole fuel from tankers has exposed its extensive networking and purported collusion with some police officials. A day after the arrests, six police officers from the state capital’s Sarojini Nagar were suspended on Tuesday in connection with the issue.
The gang stole from tankers departing the HPCL depot in Lucknow. It would then replace fuel with a similar looking chemical sourced from Unnao. The stolen fuel was sold at discounted prices in rural areas of Lucknow.
The accused who were caught were identified as Ajay Yadav, 38; mastermind Om Prakash Yadav, 30; Mirajuddin, 30; Jagdeep Prajapati, 29; and Arun Kumar, 22, all of whom hailed from Lucknow or its nearby areas, stated Lucknow Police.
Deputy commissioner of police (South) Nipun Agarwal said that the men roped in drivers of their target tankers. “The drivers would already know areas where network connectivity is poor. They would stop the vehicles at such places and turn off the GPS for the gang members,” said Agarwal.
According to police, the gang has the technical know-how of how to work with motor filler machines, plastic pipes and other things needed to replace fuel with chemicals.
“As many as 38 chemical-filled drums, another with 50 litres of petrol, and several vehicles including a tanker, a pickup vehicle, an SUV, and a motorcycle were seized from the five men,” said the DCP.
The mastermind, Om Prakash Yadav, owned a godown in Naderganj area which the gang used to store the chemicals sourced from Unnao. The probe has also revealed how the gang was being ‘protected’ by local police who were suspended by the DCP after they were found guilty of negligence. Among the six policemen who were suspended is Nadarganj outpost in-charge Ashish Kumar. Others are Santosh Kumar, Satendra Singh, Raghubir Singh, Ankit Kumar and Lalit Kumar Singh.
