Gujarat Oil Theft Case: Jharkhand Residents Among 11 Arrested in Kutch

Bhuj/Ranchi (IANS): Strands of a massive interstate oil theft network have linked back to Jharkhand after the State Monitoring Cell (SMC) of the Gujarat Police arrested 11 people—including residents of Jharkhand—during a midnight raid in Kutch district. Authorities seized six tankers, over two lakh kgs of oil, and high-tech siphoning equipment collectively valued at ₹4.34 crore.

The arrested cartel members include labourers, tanker drivers, and cleaners hailing from Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, and Gujarat.

Acting on a precise tip-off, a special police task force executed the high-stakes raid on Thursday at an open ground in the Ratadiya (Ganeshvala) farmland area near the critical maritime hub of Mundra.

The Modus Operandi and Seizures

The syndicate operated strategically on the left side of the highway leading from Mokha Toll Plaza towards Mundra, directly beneath the high-tension 66 kV Patri-Mundra power line.

The police confirmed that the massive haul includes:

• Six commercial tankers valued at ₹1.5 crore.
• 2,05,170 kg of industrial oil loaded inside the tankers, worth over ₹2.81 crore.
• 1,465 kg of freshly siphoned, stolen oil valued at ₹1.78 lakh.

Raiding officers also confiscated 10 mobile phones, a motorcycle, 50 plastic barrels, three metal drums, 72 plastic carboys, an electronic weighing scale, a heavy-duty electric motor with extraction pipes, iron loading pipes, customized oil-leakage stoppers, and forged consignment notes matching the six seized tankers. The total value of the confiscated property stands at exactly ₹4,34,52,635.

Five Masterminds on the Run

The SMC has officially handed over the 11 arrested accused to the Pragpar Police Station for custody and interrogation. Concurrently, the police have launched a massive manhunt for five key local kingpins who managed to evade arrest:

1. Abdul Gafurbhai Ahmed Halepotra (Adipur, Kutch) – Alleged to have hired the interstate labourers.
2. Pankajbhai (Anjar)
3. Dhruvarajsinh Jethva (Anjar)
4. Gopalbhai Gadhvi (Vovar village, Mundra)
5. Harbhambhai Rabari (Bhimasar)

Pragpar Police have registered a comprehensive criminal case against the gang under Sections 303(2), 306, 316(3), 317(1)(2), 61(2), and 111(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

Investigators are currently interrogating the arrested workers to map out the full extent of the interstate black-market oil network and track down the supply chains connecting Gujarat to states like Jharkhand.