Crude oil theft racket busted, 4 held in Tinsukia

Dibrugarh: In a significant breakthrough, police in Tinsukia district uncovered a sophisticated crude oil theft racket operating in the Borhapjan area on Wednesday, leading to the arrest of four individuals. The arrested individuals include Vidwan Yadav, a manager of a highway construction company, along with three others identified as Amar Jyoti Neog, Pradip Gohain, and Rontu Baruah. Police also seized several drums of pilfered crude oil, specialised theft equipment, and a vehicle used for transporting the stolen oil. "Following multiple instances of crude oil pilferage and the discovery of illegal tapping points in oil pipelines during Nov and Dec, Oil India Limited (OIL) filed an FIR at Makum Police Station. Our investigation, based on technical analysis and intelligence gathering, led to the identification and subsequent arrest of these individuals. This arrest is a major success in our ongoing efforts to combat oil theft in the oil-rich district," said Mrinmoy Das, additional superintendent of police (headquarters), Tinsukia. He mentioned that the investigation revealed a complex operation where the stolen crude oil was being channeled into the construction industry. "The accused were selling the pilfered crude oil to the highway construction company manager Vidwan Yadav, who would then mix it with bitumen for road construction purposes. For the sake of further investigation, we are withholding the name of the construction company at this moment," Das added. All four accused have been charged under multiple sections of the law, including Section 303(2) of BNS, Section 34 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP) Act, 1984, and Section 15 of the Petroleum & Minerals Pipelines Act, 1962.
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