After a minor blast rocked a residential area in south-west Delhi’s Kakrola village on Tuesday night, the police discovered a 150-feet-long and 2.5-feet-wide tunnel that had been dug to pilfer oil from an underground Indian Oil Corporation Limited pipeline.
The police managed to arrest one accused, Zubair, who said he was working with a group of four others.
The tunnel, located on a piece of land that was taken up on rent to set up a scrap dumping ground, was dug over a period of three months, said the police.
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The underground pipeline is used to transport different types of petroleum products from Sonipat to Bijwasan, said the police.
DCP (Dwarka) Shibesh Singh said the racket was uncovered after they received a call around 8.30 p.m. about an explosion near NSIT college. A police team reached the site and discovered the tunnel. Zubair disclosed that they had taken the plot on rent from one Balwan Singh five months ago.
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Gas leaked from pipeline
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“Zubair told us that he had not started stealing fuel and had just finished drilling a hole in the pipeline with the help of a gas cutter. They covered the opening and placed some bricks and a sofa on it. On Monday evening, they removed the sofa and soon after the blast took place,” said a police officer.
Investigators said that the explosion occurred as gases leaking from the pipeline had concentrated inside the covered tunnel.
The police also found a truck with large overhead water tankers with some fuel kept in it and suspect that the accused have transported fuel in it in the past, despite Zubair’s claims that they had not started pilfering oil from the pipeline.
“We are trying to find out Zubair was planning to sell the fuel. A case under relevant provisions of law has been registered and the landlord has also been booked for not carrying out a tenant verification,” said Mr. Singh.
The Indian Oil Corporation commenced repair work on the pipeline on Wednesday.