Nagpur: Butibori police on Tuesday seized 1,900 litres of illegally hoarded diesel worth nearly Rs1.9 lakh, along with other materials valued at around Rs2 lakh, taking the total recovery to about Rs4 lakh.The raid comes at a time when city and rural areas are facing an acute fuel shortage, triggering long queues at petrol pumps.Acting on a tip-off received on Tuesday, a police team, monitored by rural SP Harssh A Poddar, raided Ruikheri.Two accused — Ranjit Singh Thakur (49) and Roshan Yadav (40), both from Wardha — were arrested, while Mohd Aklim Mohd Aslam Sheikh of Ruikhairi is absconding. Police said the trio had no licence to store diesel and were hoarding it for profiteering.Cops recovered 95 plastic cans of 20 litres each filled with diesel from their premises.The operation was supervised by additional SP Anil Mhaske and SDPO Bhagyashree Dhirbassi.A case has been registered under Sections 3 and 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and Section 8(1) of the Petroleum Act. Police suspect a larger syndicate and are probing backward linkages.
