An illegal gas filling station operating secretly behind a garage in a paper shed at Devlali village was busted and demolished by the Crime Branch Unit-2 of Nashik Police. The team seized 63 gas cylinders, machinery, and other equipment worth Rs 2.25 lakh from the spot. A case has been registered against four people, and three have been taken into custody.
The action was taken on Saturday afternoon (May 3), after Assistant Sub-Inspector Vilas Gangurde received a tip-off during routine patrol under Nashik Road Police Station limits. He immediately informed Assistant Police Inspector Hemant Todkar, who instructed a team to conduct a raid.
The police team, including Gangurde, Sanjay Sanap, Prakash Bodke, Chandrakant Gawli, and Sunil Khairnar, raided the location and found gas being illegally transferred from domestic cylinders into private vehicles using a machine. This activity was being carried out in an unsafe paper shed, putting public safety at risk.
The team seized 63 gas cylinders, a compressor motor, three weighing forks, and Rs 4,200 in cash. The total value of the seized items is estimated at Rs 2.25 lakh.
Aleem Sheikh, a resident of Devlali village, was found to be running the unauthorized gas filling setup. Along with him, three other suspects — Shiva Dinesh Lonare (20, from Rajwada), Shakir Mohammad Shah (25), and Nawaz Ahmed Shah (21), both residents of Devlali — were caught while illegally filling gas in vehicles.
All the accused have been booked for illegally handling and storing explosive substances and further investigation is underway. Police have warned that strict action will be taken against anyone found involved in such dangerous and unauthorized activities.