Illegal gas pipeline tapping busted in Rajkot, three booked

Rajkot: A major gas theft operation has been uncovered in Rajkot district, with police booking three individuals for illegally tapping into a main pipeline of Gujarat Gas Limited (GGL).The complaint was filed at Shapar Veraval police station by Bhavsinh Dodiya, a 37-year-old engineer in GGL's technical department. The accused —Dipen Thummar, Paresh Thummar and Kajal Meghnani—who are working as operators of a factory named Internal Food Product.According to the complaint, GGL teams conduct regular surprise inspections across its 566 active industrial consumers in the district to detect irregularities. The incident came to light on April 13, 2026, during a routine check at the Internal Food Product unit in the Vedati industrial area of Veraval.During the inspection, officials observed that the operators had illegally tapped into the company's main pipeline by installing an unauthorised connection, enabling them to draw gas without detection while also damaging the pipeline.An internal assessment by GGL estimated that the unit had siphoned off around 64,343 units of gas over the past year, resulting in a financial loss of approximately Rs 44.52 lakh.The accused have been booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Sections 287, 110, 303(2), 324(5), 317(4) and 54, along with Section 15(1) of the Petroleum and Minerals Pipeline (Acquisition of Right of User in Land) Act. Further investigation is underway.