The Delhi Police busted two illegal LPG hoarding and refilling rackets in the city, seizing 125 cylinders and arresting three delivery agents, an official said on Sunday.
According to police, they recovered 57 cylinders, including 50 filled ones, along with a pickup vehicle, a weighing scale and equipment used for illegal gas transfer from Rohini’s Rama Vihar area.
“A man, identified as Lokpal (55), was arrested at the spot,” a police officer said.
In another operation in Delhi’s Sangam Vihar, 68 gas cylinders — 36 filled, 29 empty and three with broken seals — were seized, police said.
Two accused, identified as Deepak (37) and Shyam (45), were arrested, they added.
Police said all three accused were authorised LPG delivery personnel who diverted cylinders instead of completing deliveries. They stockpiled them illegally and extracted small quantities of gas to refill empty cylinders using unauthorised equipment.
“They created artificial shortages by withholding supply and sold refilled cylinders in the open market at higher rates to earn undue profits,” a senior officer said.
The accused used refuelling motors and manual techniques to transfer 1-2 kg of LPG from filled cylinders into empty ones, which were then sold at inflated prices.
A case was registered, and further investigation is underway to identify the wider supply chain, police added.
