Acting on a tip-off, Kundapur sub-division DYSP H D Kulkarni led a raid on March 10 at a service station near Subbarao Complex, Siddapur, uncovering a fuel theft racket.

During the operation, prime suspect Vijay Naik managed to flee, while tanker driver Jayaram was arrested and remanded to judicial custody. Vijay Naik, who owns a tourist vehicle service and a service station, was allegedly running the illegal fuel trade from the same premises.

Massive fuel seizure

Shankaranarayana PSI Naseer Hussain confirmed that DYSP Kulkarni’s team caught Vijay Naik and Jayaram in the act of siphoning diesel from a Bharat Petroleum tanker. Police seized:

🚛 A Mangaluru-registered fuel tanker
⛽ 1,020 litres of diesel
⛽ 30 litres of petrol
🔧 Three pipes and a fuel extraction lift motor

How the racket operated

Fuel tankers traveling from Mangaluru to other districts would make unauthorized stops at Vijay Naik’s service station, where, with drivers’ cooperation, fuel was illegally siphoned and stored. It is suspected that the stolen diesel was used for Naik’s fleet of tourist vehicles.

Authorities are investigating possible accomplices, while the hunt for Vijay Naik continues.