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Man held in Rohtas with 129 oxy cylinders
PATNA The police on Friday arrested a man in Rohtas and seized 129 oxygen cylinders he had hoarded to sell in the black market
PATNA
The police on Friday arrested a man in Rohtas and seized 129 oxygen cylinders he had hoarded to sell in the black market.
The accused, Bikash Kumar, a resident of Adarsh Nagar under Dehri police station of Rohtas district, was selling jumbo oxygen cylinders, which have a capacity of 47 litres, for ₹35,000 a piece, five times higher the actual price.
“He was trying to sell the cylinders illegally in the black market for an exorbitant price,” said a statement from Rohtas superintendent of police (SP) Ashish Bharti.
“Posing as a relative of a Covid patient, a police officer on Friday noon approached Bikash to negotiate the price of an oxygen cylinder. After bargaining, he agreed to give a cylinder for ₹35,000. Thereafter, the police raided the accused’s shop on station road and seized 129 oxygen cylinders, a gauge and other equipment,” the SP said.
“We have booked Bikash under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Disaster Management Act and the Epidemic Act,” Bharti said.
During interrogation, the accused confessed he procured oxygen cylinders from West Bengal.
As many as 25 people have been arrested for black marketing of oxygen cylinders, life-saving medicines, injections and oximeters across the state, according to the Bihar Police headquarters.
