Unearthing an inter-State racket involved in siphoning crude oil from the Paradip-Haldia pipeline, the Baleswar police arrested two persons on Sunday. The police seized an oil tanker, fully loaded with oil, and two sharp-edged knives from their possession.
The accused were identified as Raju Ali of Panskura in Medinapur district and Md Jabir Ansari of Manikchak in Malda district of West Bengal.
The duo was forwarded to court after being booked under Sections 379, 427, 279, 307, 34 of IPC and 25 and 27 of Arms Act along with P&MP Act and 3PDPP Act.
Both the accused, part of a crime syndicate, were involved in stealing crude oil from the supply pipeline clandestinely from different points. In Baleswar, they had committed such offences at two places under the Basta police station and one each in Jaleswar and Rupsa areas, said Baleswar Superintendent of Police Niti Sekhar.
Efforts were on to nab the other accused persons of the racket, he said.
While there have been repeated incidents of oil theft from the supply pipelines, the racket had posed a serious menace for the police as well as for the IOCl. On April 9, an oil tanker was found burning in a paddy field, about one km from NH-60 under the Rupsa police station past mid night under mysterious circumstances.
The accused had brought the tanker and tried to fill it by siphoning crude oil from the Paradip-Haldia pipeline after making an aperture on it. Once they failed to move the loaded tanker, they set it on fire before fleeing from the scene.
The seized tanker contained oil worth about Rs 10 lakh and the accused were trying to ferry the oil to Bengal before being intercepted near Rupsa. The racket use to sell the stolen oil to some industries, police could learn during interrogation of the accused.