FIR over bid to steal lube oil from BPCL pipeline

The case was registered based on a complaint from Gaurav Gaikwad, a senior manager with BPCL who oversees safety and surveillance of BPCL lube oil pipeline

MUMBAI: The Byculla police have registered a case against unidentified accused who allegedly dug a five-foot-deep trench in Dockyard Road, drilled a hole in the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) oil pipeline and connected a pipe from the hole till a nearby godown with the intention of stealing lube oil.

FIR over bid to steal lube oil from BPCL pipeline

The case was registered based on a complaint from Gaurav Gaikwad, a senior manager with BPCL who oversees safety and surveillance of BPCL lube oil pipeline, which extends from the refinery in Mahul, Chembur till Wadi-Bunder.

According to the police, reports from an internal inspection in August using specialised equipment indicated that the pipeline had weakened at specific locations. Upon further inspection and excavation at Dockyard Road, it was observed that a hole had been drilled into BPCL’s main lube oil pipeline, and a separate pipe had been attached from the hole till a nearby godown.

Accordingly, a case was registered against unknown accused under sections 303 (theft) and 62 (attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and section 15 (obstructing survey and pipeline works, damaging or destroying underground pipelines, and committing acts of sabotage) of the Petroleum and Minerals Pipelines (Acquisition of Right of User in Land) Act, 1962.