10,290 litres of fuel, 65 tonnes of chemicals seized in Gujarat, seven held

Anand: Gujarat Police’s State Monitoring Cell (SMC) has seized fuel, chemicals and vehicles worth a combined Rs 1.72 crore in two separate raids in Anand district, arresting seven people in connection with the alleged theft of petroleum products and chemicals, officials said on Thursday.

In the first raid conducted at the premises of Rajpurohit Hotel on National Highway 48 along the Anand-Nadiad highway in Boriyavi, police seized 10,290 litres of diesel and petrol worth Rs 20.08 lakh, two vehicles valued at Rs 23 lakh, and four mobile phones worth Rs 15,500.

The total value of the seized property was Rs 43.25 lakh. A team led by State Monitoring Cell Police Inspector M.K. Malviya conducted the raid. Four people were arrested, and a case was registered at Anand Rural Police Station on October 14 under Sections 287, 316(4), 317(4), 61(2) and 112(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Sections 3, 7 and 8 of the Essential Commodities Act, the statement said.

The arrested accused were identified as Narvarbhai alias Natubhai Lakum, a resident of Dholka in Ahmedabad district; Swaroop Singh Rajpurohit, a resident of Barmer district in Rajasthan; Dhan Singh Rajpurohit, also from Barmer district; and Laxmanbhai Bharwad, a resident of Boriyavi in Anand district.

In a separate operation, the State Monitoring Cell seized chemicals weighing 65,312 kg, valued at Rs 71.84 lakh, from a location in Danteli village along the Vasad-Tarapur highway in Petlad taluka.

The seizure also included six plastic barrels worth Rs 700, three vehicles valued at Rs 57 lakh, and four mobile phones worth Rs 20,000. The total value of the seized property was Rs 1.29 crore.

The raid was conducted by Police Inspector A.J. Chauhan. A case was registered at Petlad Rural Police Station on October 14 under Sections 303(2), 316(3), 317(1), 317(2), 61(2)(a) and 54 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

Three people were arrested in the second case: Dharmendra Singh alias Munna Rajput and Rajan Singh Rajput, both residing in Kalali of Vadodara and originally from Sultanpur district in Uttar Pradesh; and Ramvikas Yadav, a resident of Pratapgarh district in Uttar Pradesh.

A notice was issued to a 15-year-old boy, who is also from Uttar Pradesh and resides in Vadodara. Police identified two other accused, Vivek Vanvasi, from Pratapgarh district, and a person identified only as Vijay, as wanted.

Further investigation is ongoing in both cases.

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