Chikkamagaluru: In a shocking development, a notorious gang that orchestrated Karnataka’s largest petrol theft in 2011 has resurfaced. The gang, infamous for drilling into petroleum pipelines to siphon fuel, has once again been caught red-handed stealing petrol worth crores from a pipeline in Hiresiguru village under Gonibeedu police station limits in Chikkamagaluru district.

The elaborate theft came to light when an alarm was triggered late on Tuesday night at the Petronet control centre in Hassan. Officials rushed to the BV3 segment of the pipeline near Hiresiguru, only to be stunned by the scene they encountered. A strong petrol smell led them to a concealed tipper truck containing 2,000 litres of stolen petrol, along with four cars and pipes used for siphoning the fuel.

Following immediate alerts from Petronet staff, Gonibeedu police arrived at the scene and seized the tipper truck, vehicles, fuel, and other materials used in the theft.During the investigation, it was revealed that Vijay Kumar, the same man who led the 2011 multi-crore theft in the region, was behind the operation again. Police arrested Vijay Kumar and his son Harsha from Dakshina Kannada district in connection with the recent incident. Authorities believe the gang has resumed its illegal operations using the same methods that once shocked law enforcement over a decade ago.

The pipeline, which runs 5 meters underground, transports petroleum products from Mangaluru Port to Bengaluru, passing through forests and rural areas. The gang had drilled a small but efficient puncture into the underground pipe and used a network of pipes to draw petrol into a waiting tipper truck.

This method mirrors their 2011 tactics, where they had stolen and sold petroleum products worth crores across the black market. Petronet officials admitted that identifying exact puncture spots in such deep, remote pipelines remains a major operational challenge. Teams are currently combing the area to detect other breaches and assess how much fuel may have been stolen before the gang was intercepted.

In response to the fresh case, Chikkamagaluru SP Vikram Amathe and Moodigere Inspector have formed two special investigation teams. Their mandate is not just to trace the full network of individuals involved in the theft but also to uncover details about buyers of the stolen fuel.The scope of the investigation has broadened as authorities now seek to determine How long the gang has been operating again undetected, Whether insiders from Petronet or contractors were involved and the distribution chain and buyers of stolen fuel