Pune police arrest five in fuel theft case

PUNE: Pune police have booked five persons, allegedly involved in a fuel theft case in Hadapsar on Saturday, police informed. The incident was reported on Saturday at Laxmi Colony near Gajanan Mitra Mandal in Hadapsar.

The accused, identified as Sunil Yadav (24), Dajiram Kalel (37), Sachin Tambe (40) and Shastri Saroj (48) were arrested by the police.

On Saturday morning, Hadapsar police got a tip-off that a tanker filled with ETF petrol (fuel used for aviation) was passing from Lakshmi Colony, in Hadapsar.

The container was coming from Vashi and was headed towards Shirdi airport. The tanker was sealed by the company to prevent fuel theft during transit. However, it was alleged that a few miscreants were stealing petrol and diesel in plastic cans from vehicles belonging to various fuel companies.

After confirmation, a team of police headed by Arvind Gokule, senior police inspector (SPI) conducted a raid in Hadapsar at around 6:30 am. During the raid, it was discovered that fuel from tankers had allegedly been stolen and filled in plastic containers.

From the site, 14 containers containing the ETF petrol were recovered. During the raid, Hadapsar Police seized stolen materials worth ₹ 2.28 crore.

A case has been registered at the Hadapsar police station under sections 3 and 7 of the Essential Commodities Act 1955 and sections 379, 285 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. The investigation is ongoing, and additional legal action will be taken as needed, the police said.