Sambalpur: A special team of district police arrested seven persons including a petrol pump owner on charges of stealing around 8,500 litres of diesel worth around Rs 26 lakh from the Paradip-Raipur oil pipeline owned by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) at Hatibari under Jujumura police limits in Sambalpur district, officials said Sunday.
The accused were identified as Atal Bihari Sahu, a petrol pump proprietor at M Rampur in Kalahandi district and his associates Abdul Amin, Md Sultan, Sheikh Ajmad, Kishore Singh, Chandrasekhar Chand and Sunil Panda. Sahu has been accused of buying stolen products. Among the other six four are from this district and two are from Bargarh.
A tanker (OD-05U-0553), a car (OD-08Q-9041) and pipes were seized in this connection. A case was registered in this and the accused was produced in the court. This was stated here by SP B Gangadhar while speaking to mediapersons, Sunday. “Efforts are on to nab the rest of the accused involved in the oil theft,” the SP added.
The theft of diesel first occurred, January 27. IOCL officials did not lodge any complaint then but informed all the police stations located in the vicinity of the pipeline.
On being informed, police kept a close watch on the area. The accused persons again visited the area February 10 and stole diesel from the pipeline. Later, a senior officer of IOCL Narendra Behera lodged a complaint alleging theft of 8,500 litres of diesel worth Rs 26 lakh with the police.
A special team led by Redhakhole SDPO Prasant Meher was formed. The team sought the assistance of cyber experts and got the clues. It raided various places and arrested the accused persons.
During investigation, it transpired that the accused persons had brought a technician from Uttar Pradesh to cut the pipeline. They had even installed a pressure valve in the pipeline. At night they would open the valve and load the diesel in tankers in only 15 minutes. The accused had also formed a separate sales team to sell the oil to customers. The second team worked on commission basis.
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