Kanmankathi village in Deoghar district of Jharkhand. On Thursday morning, five people were moving around carrying suction pipes, wrenches, shovels, and measuring tape. They went down to the agricultural fields, looking around and searching for something. Their suspicious movement prompted the villagers to start questioning them. All five claimed they had come to conduct a survey for the central government's Jal Jeevan Mission project. Upon receiving information, police from the Jashidi police station went to the village. After taking them to the station and conducting continuous interrogation, police learned that they had gone to Kanmankathi village to conduct reconnaissance for stealing crude oil from the Barauni-Haldia pipeline. Jashidi police station has arrested all five on charges of attempting to steal oil from the state-owned company.
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Who were arrested?
Police said the names of those arrested are: 1) Mukunda Bera (resident of Bara Bajitpur in the Bhabanipore police station area of East Midnapore). 2) Samir Pande (resident of Ahmedabad, Gujarat). 3) Pir Ali (resident of Gonda, Uttar Pradesh). 4) Adesh Kumar (resident of Etawah, Uttar Pradesh). 5) Rohit Anurag (resident of Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh).
Police said Samir Pande had been arrested earlier on charges of stealing government oil. Whether the others have any criminal charges against them is being investigated.
Police claim that during interrogation, the arrested individuals revealed they had been roaming around the Lahabhawan area on the Bihar-Jharkhand border since November 25. They had visited Kanmankathi village multiple times because the crude oil pipeline passes through that village. Since November 25, they had been staying at the Mainak Hotel in Jashidi market.
Sensational information emerged during interrogation
Police claim that during interrogation, the arrested individuals revealed they had taken multiple photographs of their reconnaissance using mobile phone cameras. They planned to steal oil during winter nights because during cold weather, the villagers do not leave their homes after 7 PM unless there is urgent work. Therefore, they had chalked out a plan for the oil theft after 9 PM. They needed a small generator to extract oil from the pipeline, and they were also making arrangements to buy one from Jashidi market. Not only that, they needed a tanker to store and transport the oil extracted from the pipeline. They had already arranged for a tanker at a daily rent of 20,000 rupees.
Police suspect there is a bigger mastermind behind this crude oil theft ring. Police also believe local residents might be involved. Jashidi police station has taken the arrested individuals into custody and started further interrogation.
