Sambalpur: Police busted an illegal LPG cylinder black-marketing racket operating from a roadside dhaba under Jujumura police limits in Sambalpur district and seized 62 cylinders, police said Tuesday.
A 19-year old youth identified as Subhas Bishnoi and a minor girl was detained in this connection, said Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar Bhamoo while addressing a press conference at the Sambalpur police headquarters Tuesday.
A case has been registered at Jujumura police station under Case No. 85/26 and further investigation is underway.
Preliminary investigation revealed the racket had allegedly been operating for the past three months with the involvement of an LPG trader Giridhari Ramji and dhaba owner Sohan Kumar.
The main accused, Sohan Kumar, is absconding and efforts are underway to arrest him soon, the SP said. The SP said the illegal gas siphoning, refilling and black-marketing operation had been running for a long time at a Rajasthani dhaba in Jujumura.
According to police, LPG tankers travelling from Paradip to different destinations frequently halted at the dhaba. Gas was allegedly siphoned from the tankers and illegally refilled into empty cylinders before being sold at inflated prices to hotels and roadside eateries.
Acting on a tip-off, police conducted a raid and seized 40 commercial cylinders and 22 domestic cylinders, totaling 62 LPG cylinders. Police said the illegal operation posed a major threat to public safety in the area, with the possibility of a serious explosion at any time.
