The Hindu : Gang selling adulterated oil busted

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 17, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Gang selling adulterated oil busted

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE NOV. 16. In perhaps the biggest haul of its kind in recent years, the Bangalore City police have seized adulterated engine oil and equipment worth Rs.10 lakh.

They have arrested four members of a gang which was involved in the sale of adulterated engine oil.

The modus operandi of the gang was to collect used engine oil from garages and mechanics, recycle it at a factory on Tank Bund Road in Bismillah Nagar (on Bannerghata Road), and package it under the brand names of well-known oil companies. The adulterated engine oil was sold to shops and petrol bunks in cans and sachets at rates much below those of genuine oil marketed by companies.

Police said the gang had been selling adulterated oil in Bangalore and other places in the State from 1998. Two members of the gang were caught red-handed by a team of the Tilak Nagar police when they were loading fake engine oil onto a truck. The oil was to be transported to a godown at Guruappanapalya on Thursday. Two more accused were arrested later. Two others, believed to be the kingpins of the racket, are at large, and a search has been launched for them.

The names of those arrested have been given as Chandrashekar alias Shekar (32), K. Gangolappa (23) of Nela Shettar Road, Ramanagar Road, Srinivas (29), and Mohan of Goripalya. During the raid on the godown, sealing machines, scales, colours, eight barrels of oil, fake seals, and labels, in all worth Rs. 20 lakh, were seized. The Tilak Nagar police have registered a case.

The seizure assumes importance in the light of the Government's decision to enforce pollution control laws stringently. The use of adulterated engine oil leads to high levels of emission of pollutants, which poses serious health problems. It also damages engines of vehicles.

Police officers say what has surfaced is only a part of a big racket. There are other gangs which sell fake engine oil, and adulterated petrol and diesel. The sale of adulterated petrol, diesel, and lubricants has increased in the past few years, and autorickshaw drivers are among the majority of buyers.

The use of adulterated oil will come down if the Government encourages private transport operators and autorickshaw drivers to go in for a bi-fuel system for their vehicles to run them on LPG or petrol/diesel.

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