13 held on charge of palm oil theft

Thirteen persons were arrested on the charge of stealing palm oil by drilling a hole in the oil pipeline laid from the Krishnapatnam port to the oil refineries located in the Muthukur coastal area in Nellore district here on Wednesday. Five tankers having oil worth Rs. 60 lakh, two cars and tool kits were seized from the gangs.

Complaint lodged

The arrests were made as part of the investigation by the Nellore district police after receiving a complaint from the management of Sarayuwala Palm Oil Company.

The company management stated that an increasing amount of oil was found unaccounted for and their actual drawal figures were not matching with the metre readings at the main pipeline valve. The investigation revealed the handiwork of two gangs in the oil theft. Vishal Gunni, SP, said that the offenders drilled holes in side pipes which carry oil from the main pipeline to the oil refineries and, from these holes, they were illegally drawing small quantities of oil and selling it at rates much lower than the market rates.

To avoid attention from the public, the offenders drilled holes in the pipes away from local habitations. It became advantageous for them as the main pipeline runs for a distance of nearly 8 km to carry oil unloaded from the ships directly to the oil refineries. The offenders were loading the stolen oil into tankers and supplying the same to known customers.

They were collecting just Rs. 23 to Rs. 27 per kg as against the market rate of Rs. 55 per kg.

The gangs involved in these offences were found to be led by Bondu Narayana of Kakinada town and Chintakayala Srinu of Muthukur area. Following professional rivalry and disputes over the sharing of profits, Srinu along with his followers attacked and injured Narayana in Muthukur area recently.

As part of the investigation, the police also found that the stolen oil was being sold to Chilakala Balaji of Chilakaluripeta and Chakradhara Rao alias Setty of Gollaprolu in East Godavari district. Nellore Rural DSP T. Tirumaleswara Reddy and Krishnapatnam CI G. Srinivasa Rao along with their men made the arrests.