Agencies
A 100-foot tunnel has been constructed to steal crude oil from the Indian Oil Corporation pipeline, said the police in Jodhpur on Tuesday. The investigation has been handed over to the special operations group of the police, they said.
A half-inch pipe was connected to the line and was laid through the tunnel to a petrol pump, the police said.
This crude oil theft was caught near Raipur on the Pali-Jaipur highway on Monday during a survey by the officials of the IOC to find some fault, they said.
The police said that what unfolded before the officials during this survey was a shocking arrangement to steal the crude oil from the pipe line stretching from Mundra in Gujarat to Panipat in Haryana.
After digging a pit at the faulty location on Monday night, they discovered a tunnel, they said.
The work was, however, halted on Monday due to the late hour, police said.
When the officials resumed excavation on Tuesday morning, it led to a valve connected to a nearby petrol pump's tank, they said.
The officials informed the police and lodged a report at the Bar Police Station on Monday.
The petrol pump manager identified as Pradeep Mali was arrested later during investigation, the police said, adding the search of the petrol pump owner was on.
