Oil, tarcoal theft from refinery trucks goes on unabated

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 25

Pilferage of oil and tarcoal from trucks coming from the Guru Gobind Singh refinery is going on unabated.

In a complaint lodged with the police, SI Makhan Singh has said he had got a tip-off that an owner of a dhaba on the Talwandi Sabo road near Jajjal village, in connivance with the trucker driver from the refinery, was stealing tarcoal. The Rama police have registered a case against an unidentified dhaba owner and a truck driver under section 379, 411 and 120B of the IPC.

It is pertinent to mention here that incidents of theft of fuel and other materials from oil tankers or trucks coming from the refinery or oil depots have become a challenge for the police as such incidents have surfaced numerous times in the past. Many incidents of tankers catching fire during theft bid have also been reported.

A senior police official on anonymity said: “The issue of oil theft is in our notice. We have been conducting regular checks in the area. In the past, several persons involved in illegal business were arrested. We have also arrested a gang involved in stealing LPG cylinders in the district.”

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Arrests made earlier

Few months ago, the police arrested a person and seized nine drums containing 2,035 litres of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) coming from the refinery at Gurusar Sainiwala village on the Bathinda-Dabwali road.

An incident of oil pilferage was reported from tankers coming from Guru Gobind Singh Refinery. The police had arrested six drivers in this regard. They were held for allegedly stealing oil worth Rs8 lakh from the tankers at Phulokheri and Ramsara in the district.

The police had also arrested three persons and seized 25 tonnes of bitumen worth Rs 9 lakh at Guthari village. In another case, the police arrested four persons and seized 250 quintals of bitumen, along with Rs 2.72 lakh in cash, at Talwandi Sabo.