Four individuals have been arrested for their involvement in the unlawful siphoning and storage of diesel from tanker trucks in Baala taluk. Acting on reliable intelligence, a police team raided a tanker yard where the suspects were caught in the act of extracting diesel from a tanker and storing it in a nearby shed, without the owner’s consent.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Santosh (42) from Kulayigudde, Mangaluru; Ritesh Menezes (36) from Katipalla, Suratkal; Narayan (23) from Kadirudhyavara, Beltangady; and Ravi Janardhan Putran (59) from Hejamady, Udupi district.
During the raid, authorities seized 1,685 liters of diesel and 20 liters of petrol, totaling 1,705 liters, along with several assets, including four mobile phones. The combined value of the fuel and assets is estimated at Rs 2,02,000, with the fuel alone valued at Rs 1,52,000 and the mobile phones worth Rs 50,000.
A case has been filed at Surathkal police station under Crime No. 05/2025, citing violations under the BNS Act 2023 and the Petroleum Products (Maintenance of Petroleum Storage and Supply Order), along with charges under the Essential Commodities Act.
The operation was carried out under the leadership of police commissioner Anupam Agarwal, with the supervision of DCPs Siddharth Goel (Law & Order) and Ravishankar (Crime & Traffic). The raid was led by Assistant police commissioner Shrikant K, with support from various police personnel.
Read also: