The Sirohi police in Rajasthan arrested five people, including the owner of a fuel pump, on Wednesday on charges of siphoning off diesel meant for the Indian Railways.
The police said that some more people are being questioned and more arrests could follow.
Sirohi superintendent of police Om Prakash said that they were receiving information about diesel theft from tankers meant for the railways’ diesel shed in Abu Road for last few months. “We were keeping tabs on the diesel movement and were able to catch five of them red-handed on Wednesday while they were siphoning off diesel from a tanker meant for the railways,” he said.
Janwari Lal Bishnoi and two of his associated were siphoning off diesel from a tanker at Baba Ramdev Petrol Pump in Abu Road area under Sadar police station when police arrested them, the SP said. Pump owner Hardik Patel has also been arrested.
Police said the racket took out 5,000 litres of diesel from the tankers carrying 25,000 litres of diesel from Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat to Essar depot in Sirohi. “They would remove the seal, take out diesel and put some chemical that made discovery of theft difficult before sealing the tankers again,” the police officer said.
Prakash said the initial investigation shows the racket was operating for four months and must have siphoned off thousands of litres of diesel. “We suspect that the railway protection force and the railways’ staff at the diesel shed may be involved in the racket. We are interrogating some people and are likely to arrest some more,” the police officer added.
{{/usCountry}}Prakash said the initial investigation shows the racket was operating for four months and must have siphoned off thousands of litres of diesel. “We suspect that the railway protection force and the railways’ staff at the diesel shed may be involved in the racket. We are interrogating some people and are likely to arrest some more,” the police officer added.
{{/usCountry}}Last year in July, the Barmer police had unearthed a criminal syndicate accused of smuggling more than 50 million litres of crude oil inside water tankers from India’s largest onshore oilfield in Barmer. The theft at the Cairn India oilfield went undetected for nearly six years until the police arrested 34 people involved in it.