Rajasthan, July 10 -- Police have started investigating after unknown people allegedly attempted to siphon crude oil by illegally tapping into an Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) pipeline in Rajasthan's Tonk district, police said on Friday after the company detected an abnormal pressure drop and uncovered a 40-foot underground pipeline connected to its crude oil network. Engineers from IOCL went to inspect Ladi village in Malpura subdivision on Thursday after detecting an abnormal pressure drop in the crude oil pipeline. During the inspection, they discovered an illegal pipeline connected to the main IOCL pipeline. According to officials, the company first noticed low pressure in the pipeline on June 1, following which a team of experts began inspecting the entire stretch of the crude oil pipeline to locate the source of the problem.
A 40-foot-long illegal pipeline was found laid underground through agricultural land and connected to the IOCL pipeline to allegedly siphon off crude oil. After removing the illegal connection and repairing the pipeline, IOCL lodged a police complaint against unknown persons. Police suspect the accused were planning to extend the illegal pipeline further. Additional superintendent of police Pushpendra Solanki said a case had been registered against unknown persons for attempting to steal crude oil.
"The company's security personnel carry out routine inspections of the pipeline, but they had not detected the illegal connection earlier," Solanki said. He said the materials used in the illegal pipeline appeared to be new, suggesting it had been installed recently. "The fact that the accused managed to connect an illegal pipeline to a high-pressure crude oil pipeline indicates that people with technical expertise may have been involved," Solanki said. Police have launched an investigation into the attempted crude oil theft and said the accused would be identified and arrested soon.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.