In the last two months, authorities in India seized at least 90 domestic LPG cylinders illegally being used for commercial purposes. (image: business.rediff.com)
In their latest success in cracking down on decanting and distribution of LPG tanks on the black market, police commandeered a van carrying 19 unregistered LPG cylinders near Mukundgunje last week, Times of India reported.
Propane is used widely in India, Asia, and the Himalayas for powering appliances, cooking, home heating and motor fuel. However, the government simply hasn’t been importing enough of the fuel and a shortage of cylinders for domestic consumers has caused a spike in criminal activity. Decanting, the most dangerous offense, involves transferring liquid propane from one container to another.
For some time, police have been conducting raids on LPG dealer offices in Hazaribag and Ramgarh suspected of delivering unregistered cylinders in private vehicles. One such raid produced a tip about deliveries being made around Mukundgunje, prompting police to begin vehicle searches – which is how they found this latest illegal delivery van and arrested its driver Santosh Kumar. Police are hopeful the seizure will help them further eliminate unsafe propane-related practices in the area.
“The arrested driver gave us some information about clandestine sale of the cylinders at Ramgarh, Kuju and Hazaribag and those who were involved in the racket, said a top officer at the Sujit Kumar police station.