NEW DELHI: In the midst of the ongoing LPG cylinder crisis, the Delhi Police have busted an illegal LPG cylinder hoarding racket and recovered over 600 cylinders from a godown in Mundka, officials said on Monday.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said, ‘Acting on a tip-off, a raid was conducted at a gas service station in Mundka. Commercial LPG cylinders were illegally stored inside the godown, in a clear violation of the LPG (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order and the provisions of the Essential Commodities Act.”
Preliminary verification revealed that the gas station is an authorised distributor of commercial LPG cylinders of a company. However, during the raid it was found that cylinders of other oil marketing companies were also being stored and handled inside the premises, which is not permitted under the licensing conditions of LPG distributorship, the DCP said.
Police recovered a total of 610 LPG cylinders (both filled and empty) belonging to various companies. Further inquiry revealed a significant discrepancy in stock records.
As per company officials, the distributor’s stock of commercial cylinders was expected to be nil as of March 10, whereas 133 filled commercial cylinders were found there, indicating possible irregularities in stock management and unauthorised storage, Yadav said.
‘Suspected’
It is suspected that illegal hoarding of LPG cylinders is often done during periods of supply constraints or artificial scarcity and later sold in the market at inflated prices.