Miscreants steals 40,000 Liters of Diesel from the IOCL Pipeline at Budhapada village under Laikera P.S.

Jharsuguda: Unknown miscreants dugs up 4 feet ditch and steals nearly 40,000 Liters of Diesel from the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) Pipeline at Budhapada village under Laikera Police station limits, police informs on Thursday.

It was spotted by a patrolling team of the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), who later informed the Laikera police.

The police said, the miscreants had dug a four-feet deep ditch and had stolen the diesel by fitting an external valve over the IOCL-owned Jharsuguda � Ranchi oil pipeline.

A team of police and IOCL officials later inspected the spot. Officer-in-charge� Sarada Das of Laikera Police Station said that “Nearly 40,000 Liters of Diesel has been stolen off. As per the complaint filed by the IOCL officials, around27,000�Liters were stolen on 24th May 2018 and 13,000 Liters on 28th May 2018. We have started our investigation”

The police officials did not rule out that the some organized mafia were behind the attempt to steal the diesel.

“We observe some pressure drop from our pipeline transporting diesel from Jharsuguda to Ranchi on Sunday late night and later on Monday had sent the patrolling team to check the line if there is some leakage or pilferage. On Tuesday morning, our patrolling team spotted a place after the smell of the oil was detected from a land and after scrutinizing we found a ditch which has been hidden with sandbags. The pipeline was fitted with an�external valve from which the miscreants were stealing the diesel. We later filed a complaint with Laikera Police station on Tuesday.” Said Santosh Kumar Behera, Sr. Operation Manager, IOCL, Jharsuguda

“It might be a job of an organized crime as it requires very highly skilled people to��puncture underground pipelines, It is very dangerous for the people involved in this crime, as the oil which is usually transported by very high pressure and even a slight puncture inside the pipeline can lead to a blast and causing harm to the person,” he added