22 August,2019 12:13 PM IST | | Faizan Khan
Picture of the oil tanker that was decanted by the mafia members. Courtesy/ Faizan Khan
The Wadala police busted an oil mafia and arrested two members of a gang while they were decanting an oil tanker near the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited parking area in Wadala on Tuesday.
According to the police, the arrested accused have been identified as the mastermind Shakeel Ahmed Shaikh, 33, and Deepak Kumar Rawat, 30. A police officer said Shaikh was on their radar for the past year. "Shaikh was always accompanied by about two dozen of his henchmen, who would alert him whenever our teams reached to arrest him," said a senior police officer.
After Zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police Dr Rashmi Karandikar received a tip-off on Tuesday, she immediately alerted Divisional Assistant Commissioner of Police Santosh Walake, who sent sub-inspector Tanaji Pawar and three constables to the spot where Shaikh was decanting an oil tanker. The driver of the tanker and the assistant were also present.
Though Shaikh was arrested immediately, the driver and his assistant Rawat fled the spot when they saw the cops approaching. However, after chasing them for almost half a kilometre, the cops nabbed Rawat, but the driver managed to escape. "Involvement of the driver and his assistant cannot be ruled out," the officer said.
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The police have seized a car, drums, bucket and a 15-ft plastic pipe, which had been dipped in the tanker to decant it. The accused had even filled the containers with oil to be transported to the market to be sold illegally.
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The officer further said, "Earlier the gang used to puncture the pipeline to attach taps to steal oil. But after we started invoking MCOC Act in such cases, they started using a different modus operandi. They have been booked under Sections 379, 285 and 34 of IPC and other relevant sections."
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