With the arrest of seven people, four of them originally from Uttar Pradesh, the crime branch claimed to have busted a major racket in oil and chemical pilgerage in the district today.
Giving details of the operation carried out by crime branch Unit-I, Thane police Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Singal said that acting on a tip-off that oil and chemicals were being pilfered on a large scale in Uttar Shiv, crime branch officials raided Kailas Garage and nabbed seven people who were busy emptying the stock and filling it smaller tankers and drums.
The police seized the stock of oil and chemicals worth Rs 59.33 lakh from those arrested.
Interrogation of the seven arrested led the police to Purna village in Bhiwandi from where the police seized an additional 128 drums of the pilfered stock valued at Rs 51.25 lakh, the police officer said.
The police officer told reporters that the total seizure was to the tune of Rs 1.10 crore.
The police identified those arrested as Seshbahadur Mohamad Mahabali Yadav (26) from Pratapgad (UP), Ajaysingh Jansingh Yadav (20) from Pratapgadh (UP), Phoolchand Sitaram Prajapati (36) from Basti (UP) and Devendrakumar Sabapati Yadav (45) from Ambedkar Nagar (UP).
Others arrested are Sanaullah Karim Hussain Khan (21), from Shilphata in Thane, Arsad Rafique Mirza (22) from Mumbra and Bablu Yusuf Shaikh (20) from Solapur, the police said.
Offences under Sections 379, 407, 411 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code have been registered against them, the police said.
The oil pilferage racket is being run under the leadership of one Raju Pathan, for whom a manhunt has been launched, the police said.
