Mumbai: Illegal diesel pump inside containers busted at Mahim, 1 held

Photo used for representational purpose

The Economic Offences Wing of city police has busted an illegal diesel pump that was being operated from inside shipping containers on a pavement outside the Mahim railway station. The suspects had a BMC contract to collect waste and clean garbage vehicles and were running the well-oiled business in the guise of doing civic work. The police have arrested the supervisor of the contractor and named its directors in the case.

The seemingly innocuous metal structures, seen across the city to host temporary offices, were equipped with huge drums, meters and a fuel dispenser, said officers from the control branch of EOW. The illegal pump near the Dharavi bus stop had its own set of clientele and used to sell poor quality diesel for R60 a litre.

The arrest of the supervisor, identified as Indrasing Rathod, followed a tip about illegal sale of diesel in Mahim and Dharavi, said officers.

"We had received information that some people were secretly storing diesel in huge Sintex tanks in shipping containers. Based on that raids were conducted and we seized 14,000 liters of low-grade diesel worth over R12 lakh. We are trying to find out from where they procured the diesel in such a huge quantity." Said PI Nitin Patil of the Control Branch.

The police said the illegal diesel pump was running for the past two months. The suspects also cheated the BMC, they said. "They used to fill the substandard diesel in more than 100 waste collection vehicles of the BMC from this illegal pump and provide bills to the municipal corporation as per market rate of diesel," Patil added.

The scamsters are believed to have sold more than 80,000 litres of diesel through thei illegal pump so far. The tanks found inside the containers could store up to 15,000 litres of the fuel, said EOW officials.

Rathod and the other suspects have been booked for dealing in a combustible substance in a negligent manner and compromising with the safety of others under the Indian Penal Code, and violation of the Essential Commodity Act and government's Motor Spirit High Speed Diesel (The regulation of supply and distribution and malpractices) order.