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Major oil theft racket busted near Refinery

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, June 4 - Noonmati police today busted a major oil theft gang operating near the Guwahati Refinery and leads have pointed to involvement of tanker drivers in the racket as well.

A police team led by the Noonmati Assistant Commissioner of Police Purabi Mazumdar caught two oil thieves near the LG Tower point. The duo was caught while they were trying to pilfer oil from tankers parked at the place.

�There have been frequent reports of oil theft in the area. Yesterday, while I was on a routine patrol late in the night, we saw some people atop a tanker. There were around five tankers parked at the place. The tankers are not supposed to park there. We were suspicious. When we flashed the torchlight on the duo they immediately jumped off and tried to run. But, my PSO and I were successful nabbing them,� Mazumdar told The Assam Tribune.

Police recovered three big drums (of 200 litres each) and eight smaller gallons full of diesel from the incident site. According to the ACP, the seized diesel will be around 800 litres.

The accused were identified as Bir Singh Nunisa (20) and Bijoy Ghosh (32), one of the kingpins of the pilferage racket. They have been booked under Sections 379/411/285 of the IPC.

The accused, both hailing from Noonmati, were today produced before a court and taken into two days� police remand for further interrogation. Police are looking for three or four more persons in connection with the racket.

Immediately after the incident, the five tankers disappeared from the area.

�However, we have got their registration numbers and we are trying to trace them. It is apparent that some tanker drivers are also involved in the racket. We will also take up the matter with the Refinery authorities,� Mazumdar said, indicating that more arrests are on the cards in the case.

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