The Mumbai Crime Branch has busted a racket where Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders were being procured illegally from Hindustan Petroleum and sold on the black market.
According to Crime Branch officers, the lid was blown off the racket after the Unit III raided the Vijay Gas Services in Sion, based on a tip-off. “We discovered that the agency had been procuring LPG cylinders from the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited using the information of people who discontinued the agency’s services, and then selling the cylinders illegally,” an officer said.
The officer said investigations conducted so far indicate that the owner of the agency, Koildas Nadar, made a profit margin of ₹150 to ₹200 over and above the normal market prices of LPG cylinders.
Mr. Nadar was arrested and charged with cheating and dishonest misappropriation of property under the Indian Penal Code, along with sections of the Essential Commodities Act and the Regulation of Supply and Distribution Order. He was produced in the Esplanade court and remanded in police custody till April 22.
Officers said the racket had been active for the last three years.
