For more than two months, a group of seven people carefully planned and executed an oil theft operation in Pochanpur village, targeting Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) pipelines that supply oil to the Bijwasan Oil Depot.
The theft, averaging 7,000 to 8,000 litres of oil daily, was uncovered when Delhi Police received a complaint from the oil giant in October last year, as The Indian Express reported.
During their investigation, the police discovered a 40-metre-long tunnel hidden under a pile of fodder on a plot in Dwarka’s Pochanpur village. The chargesheet reveals that the accused used a valve machine connected to two plastic pipes to drill a hole in the government oil pipeline and extract the oil. To avoid suspicion, the stolen oil was loaded onto tractors and concealed in containers meant for wheat flour and gravel.
“…A machine was installed to extract oil by making a hole in the government oil pipeline, in which two plastic pipes were connected and kept at the plot of Rakesh (the landlord) at a distance of around 40 meters by making a tunnel,” states the chargesheet, according to The Indian Express.
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Surprisingly, it was learned that on June 15, Rakesh rented the land to an individual named Naresh for Rs 30,000 per month. However, Rakesh did not bother to verify the tenant’s identity, unwittingly playing a role in the unfolding oil theft scheme.
How the oil theft came into light
According to the chargesheet filed earlier this month in the Dwarka court, the planning for the theft began in December 2022. The main accused, Sudesh Gupta, operating under the alias Naresh Verma, identified a plot near the pipeline and opened a mechanic shop nearby. Two skilled individuals, Muradi and Bobby, were enlisted for their expertise in digging tunnels and making holes in pipelines.
“The work was completed in 2.5 months after which they drilled the pipeline and installed the valve and started extracting oil,” stated the chargesheet.
To further conceal their activities, one of the accused, Imran alias Mistri, welded an iron plate under the pipeline using a small welding machine. Co-accused Ravi and Kale utilized a special drill machine to weld the pipeline. The drilling process was designed to prevent oil leakage using a special rubber inside the spindle of the drill machine.
The stolen oil and diesel were transported to a warehouse in Palwal, from where three of the accused, Sudesh, Rashid, and Ram, facilitated its sale to customers.
The oil theft operation was initially detected when complaints of pressure drop were reported in the pipeline. On October 4, IOCL officials confirmed the pilferage at the Delhi-Panipat section.
The chargesheet detailed that on June 15, the landlord, Rakesh, rented the land to the main accused, Sudesh, without proper verification. This oversight allowed the elaborate operation to proceed unnoticed.
The accused are currently facing charges related to oil theft and damage to government property. The court proceedings are expected to shed more light on the intricacies of this well-organised criminal enterprise.