New Delhi, March 26
The Delhi Police booked a gas agency owner for allegedly hoarding and black marketing LPG cylinders in outer Delhi’s Ranhola area, seizing 459 cylinders during a raid, an official said on Thursday.
The accused, identified as Susheel Kumar Singhal, owner of HP Balaji Gas Agency, was found allegedly involved in illegal storage and misuse of commercial LPG cylinders, the police said in a statement.
According to police, the operation was carried out following specific intelligence inputs regarding large-scale hoarding amid concerns over a possible LPG shortage.
“A coordinated raid was conducted at the gas agency located on Nilothi Road in Ranhola, where 459 empty LPG cylinders of Indane and Bharat Petroleum were recovered,” a senior police officer said.
The seized cylinders included 284 Indane gas cylinders and 175 Bharat Petroleum cylinders, police said, adding that a food supply officer was called to the scene to initiate action.
A case has been registered under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and further investigation is underway.
Police said the accused, who owned and operated the gas agency, allegedly exploited his position to hoard commercial LPG cylinders and divert them from legitimate distribution channels.
“He took advantage of the demand-supply gap and intended to sell the cylinders in the open market at inflated prices to make unlawful gains,” the officer said.
The illegal stock was allegedly kept under the guise of regular business inventory to avoid detection, indicating a planned and systematic modus operandi, police said.
The recovered cylinders have been handed over to a representative of Hindustan Petroleum Gas according to prescribed procedures, police added.
