Mangaluru: Four individuals have been arrested by the Surathkal police for stealing diesel from tankers parked in a tanker yard at Bala in Mangaluru taluk. The theft occurred without the knowledge of the tanker owners. Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal confirmed that the police received a tip-off on January 13 about illegal diesel theft and storage from parked tankers.
Acting on the information, officials raided the location and caught the suspects in the act of siphoning diesel from the lower compartment of a tanker and storing it in a nearby shed.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Santhosh (42) from Kulaigudde, Airon Ritesh Minej (36) from 3rd Block, Katipalla, Narayana (23) from Kadirudhyavara, and Ravi Janandra Putran (59) from Hejamadi, Udupi district.
Authorities seized a total of 1,705 liters of fuel, including 1,685 liters of diesel and 20 liters of petrol, along with four mobile phones and other assets. The total value of the seized diesel and petrol is estimated at Rs 1,52,000, while the other items are worth approximately Rs 50,000.
A case has been registered at the Surathkal Police Station under several sections, including Sections 287 and 303(1) of the BNS Act 2023, and various sections of the Petroleum Products (Maintenance of Petroleum Storage and Supply Order) and the Motor Spirit and High-Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order. The Essential Commodities Act also applies to the case.
The operation was conducted under the guidance of Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal, with the support of DCP (Law and Order) Siddarth Goyal, DCP (Crime and Traffic) Ravishankar, and Assistant Police Commissioner of North Subdivision Shrikkant K. The team included ASI Prakash Murthy, head constables Udayakumar and Kumaraswamy, and police constables Halesh Nayak, Sunil, Anand, Ashok, and Basavaraj.
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