69 Gas cylinders illegally stocked in residential area

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

At a time when the city is grappling with a shortage of gas cylinders, the food and civil supplies department has cracked down on illegal hoarding and taken one accused into custody. The suspect has been identified as Sheikh Mukhtar Sheikh Usman (52, resident of Pir Bazaar, Osmanpura), who was arrested by Jawaharnagar police.

Amid ongoing international tensions and war-like situations, fuel and gas supply chains have been significantly affected. Over the past 20 days, the city has witnessed a shortage of commercial gas cylinders, while fears of a domestic LPG shortage led to long queues at gas agencies. Complaints of growing waiting lists have also surfaced. Taking serious note of the situation, the district administration had issued strict directives to curb hoarding and black marketing. The food and civil supplies department was instructed to act firmly against those creating artificial scarcity of essential commodities.

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Cylinders stored in tin shed near drain

Acting on a tip-off about illegal storage at Pir Bazaar, food distribution officer Bharti Wakode, along with Jawaharnagar police inspector Maroti Khillare, assistant inspector Atish Lohkare, and sub-inspector Maroti Khillare, conducted a raid. A total of 69 cylinders were recovered from a tin shed erected near a drain 45 commercial and 24 domestic cylinders.

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Additionally, equipment such as a weighing scale and a motor used for refilling gas into empty cylinders were also seized. A case has been registered against the accused under Sections 3 and 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, along with Section 288 of the BNS. He was arrested and produced before the court, which remanded him to one-day police custody, informed assistant inspector Atish Lohkare.