Pune: Police Crackdown on Gas Cylinder Black Marketers in Pimpri Chinchwad: Two Arrested

Pune / Pimpri Chinchwad: On Tuesday, Unit One of the Crime Branch of Pimpri Chinchwad Police apprehended two individuals involved in the illicit trade of gas cylinders. The accused were allegedly extracting gas from domestic cylinders and redistributing it on the commercial market by filling those cylinders with gas. The operation, conducted by the Crime Branch unit of Pimpri Chinchwad Police, led to the arrest of Bhujanganath Dilip Patil (28) and Sambhaji Balaji Upase (24).

Acting on a tip-off, Police Constable Somnath Babasaheb Borhade initiated the raid at a steel shed warehouse in the Chikhali area. Upon raiding, police discovered that the accused were reportedly refilling gas from domestic cylinders into commercial ones without proper authorization. The police seized a substantial amount of evidence during the operation, including a sum of 1 lakh, 96 thousand, and 200 rupees.

A formal complaint has been lodged at Chikhali Police Station against Patil and Upase under various sections of the law, including IPC 420, 285 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and Sections 3 and 7 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908. The charges encompass illegal gas-filling activities that pose a risk to public safety.

The crime branch had received information about the unauthorised extraction and sale of gas from domestic cylinders in the black market. The subsequent raid at the steel shed in Jadhavwadi exposed the accused for carrying out these activities without adhering to safety protocols. Despite the potential danger to life, the individuals were found engaging in these unlawful practices.

Items worth Rs 1 lakh, 96 thousand, and 200 were confiscated during the operation, and the police are now conducting a thorough investigation into the matter.