Rajkot: Police across multiple districts in the state have intensified crackdowns on illegal LPG refilling operations and black marketeering, leading to several arrests and hundreds of cylinders being seized.Companies rationing commercial cylinders and extending domestic booking periods have created a fertile ground for illegal operators to profit from rising demand. On Wednesday, Devbhumi Dwarka police raided a godown in the Rupen Bandar area and arrested three men — Sahadat Hussain Malik (35), a gas stove repairman, and two gas agency workers, Mohmad Sheikh (19) and Najir Sheikh (21). The trio was caught transferring gas from sealed domestic cylinders into empty ones without licences or authorization. Around 200 empty, filled and half-filled cylinders were seized. The three were booked under the Essential Commodities Act and the Explosive Substances Act for risking public safety by operating without authorization and necessary precautions. On March 22, Rajkot rural police busted a similar racket in the Ribda industrial area of Gondal taluka and seized 600 cylinders. Four people, including the manager of Saiprem Gas Agency, were arrested after police used a decoy customer to expose the illegal operation. On March 23, police raided a godown in Supasi village of Veraval and seized 30 cylinders that were allegedly being refilled illegally. A police officer explained, “Illegal refilling operations are being carried out to sell the cylinders in the black market. With OMCs now using centralised booking systems and technology to monitor deliveries, these unauthorised operations are a desperate way for them to make quick money.”
