Two LPG black marketing rackets busted in Delhi; 248 cylinders seized

The Delhi Police has busted two illegal LPG hoarding and refilling rackets in separate operations in south and southwest Delhi, seizing a total of 248 cylinders and taking action against five accused, officials said on Wednesday.

In a major crackdown, the crime branch raided multiple locations in Sangam Vihar and recovered 183 Indane cylinders, 154 filled and 29 empty ones, along with refilling equipment.

Four delivery agents — Sher Singh, Suraj Parihar, Raghu Raj Singh and Jitender Sharma — were found involved in unauthorised storage and illegal refilling of cylinders, police said.

“The accused, all registered delivery personnel of an authorised LPG agency, diverted cylinders from their daily supply and stored them in rented godowns. They extracted small quantities of gas from filled cylinders and transferred it into empty ones using makeshift equipment before selling them in the open market at higher prices,” a senior police officer said.

He further said a case has been registered and further investigation is underway.

In a separate operation, a team busted another racket in southwest Delhi’s Chhawla area and recovered 65 LPG cylinders from a residential premises being used for illegal storage and sale.

The accused, identified as Ashok Kumar (52), was arrested from the spot. Police said he was hoarding cylinders and selling them to local residents and small businesses at inflated prices.

The recovery included commercial and domestic cylinders of Indane and Bharat brands, along with a gas refilling equipment and a weighing scale. A case has been registered in this connection.