Unauthorised diesel pump in Wadala; cops suspect huge racket

The fuel nozzle at the illegal diesel filling station in Wadala

An illegal filling station selling diesel for the past eight months just a few hundred metres away from the Wadala Truck Terminal police station was raided by the Mumbai Crime Branch on Thursday. Three people have been arrested and 15,000 litres of diesel worth Rs 11,70,000 has been seized. The accused have been identified as Taranjeet Ratansing Banga, 44, Amarjeetsing Deelip Singh Malhotra, 36, and Irfan Mehboob Juneja, 36.

One of the tankers in which the fuel was being stored

The Crime Branch received a tip-off about heavy vehicles and luxury buses getting diesel at cheaper rates. They also got to know that the diesel pump was put up inside a service centre and covered with an iron sheet. "Based on the information we recced the area and in the wee hours of Thursday, conducted a raid. Three accused have been arrested," said Vinayak Mer, senior police inspector of Unit I.

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The Crime Branch discovered that the pump had been functional since the COVID-19 lockdown started. "The accused took advantage of the lockdown as no one would have discovered them. Only selected vehicles, including luxury tours and travel buses and heavy vehicles, procured diesel at Rs 67 per litre, which is around Rs 10 less than the market price," an officer said. Around 800 litres of diesel was sold every day.

"The diesel filling station was established in the name of Dashmesh service centre. It was in an area measuring around 45x25ft where one bus can be parked to fill diesel. The accused also installed a fuel dispenser just like the one at regular petrol pumps and the required electric meter," Mer added.

The Crime Branch found two heavy fuel tankers with capacities of 15,000 litres and 10,000 litres placed on a cement block. The seized diesel was in the 15,000-litre capacity tanker. "The investigation is at an initial stage. We are verifying from where such a huge quantity of diesel was procured and brought for illegal operations," said Prakash Jadhav, deputy commissioner of police (detection).

As per its initial probe, the Crime Branch suspects that this could be a huge racket involving a gang of thieves. They could be procuring diesel in huge quantities by tapping existing fuel transport pipelines or they might be stealing it in smaller amounts from tankers of fuel companies.

The accused trio was produced before the Killa court and remanded to police custody till December 7. They have been charged for cheating and other relevant crimes as per the Indian Penal Code and the Essential Commodities Act.

'67
Rate at which the diesel was sold at the illegal filling station

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