Two men arrested for pilfering petrol, diesel and tar from tanker trucks near Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: The rural police arrested two men for pilfering petrol, diesel and tar from tanker trucks parked on the Madukkarai bypass road in Coimbatore district. The police seized two trucks, a pickup van and 1,550 kg of tar from them.
Madukkarai police sub-inspector E Kaviyarasu, head constable Prabhakaran and constable Naveenkumar went for patrol on Wednesday morning. The police team found a man standing in a suspicious manner near five tar barrels and two trucks at Seerapalayam. They questioned the man, identified as M Gnanaprakasam, 48 of Rajagnapathi Nagar at Malumichampatti.
Gnanaprakasam told the police that drivers of tanker trucks used to load tar from Kerala and were proceeding towards various parts of Tamil Nadu. The drivers used to park the trucks on the bypass roadside to take rest during morning hours. He used the situation and opened the valve of the tanker trucks and filled the tar in the steel barrels. Later, he shifted the tar barrels to a hidden place near the bypass road and sold the tar to the locals. Realtors used to buy tar from him to lay the roads on plots.
“Gnanaprakasam used to store the tar and petroleum products at a godown at Seerapalayam Therkku Thottam near Madukkarai. We raided the godown and seized two tanker trucks. He used to pilferage petrol and diesel from the tanker trucks parked on the bypass road at Seerapalayam and shifted them to the two tanker trucks which he owns. He was involved in petrol and diesel sales without any licence to the general public in Malumichampatti and surrounding areas. We are checking the ownerships of the seized two tanker trucks,” said sub-inspector Kaviyarasu.
The police registered a case against Gnanaprakasam under sections 285 and 379 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 3 read with 23 (1) (a) of Petroleum Act 1934 and arrested him.
The police also seized two tanker trucks and 775kg of tar from him. He was remanded in judicial custody.
The same police team got a tip-off about the illegal storage of tar in a godown at Lakshmi Nagar phase II in Madukkarai. The team raided the godown on Wednesday afternoon. The police found 775 kg of tar and a pickup van from the godown. They arrested I Ponraj, 33 of Amman Nagar at Machampalayam.
He told the police that he used to steal tar from parked tanker trucks on the Madukkarai bypass road and shifted the tar barrels to the godown in the pickup van for sales. The police seized tar and the pickup van from him.