Bhubaneswar: Police on Monday arrested a man for allegedly running an illegal LPG cylinder trade racket in the Chunukoli slum area under Chandrasekharpur police station limits in the city.
The accused has been identified as Manoj Kumar Sahoo, a resident of Salipur in Cuttack district and a former manager at a gas agency.
Acting on a tip-off, Chandrasekharpur police conducted a raid in the Chunukoli slum area and seized 11 filled LPG cylinders, 8 empty cylinders, and an auto-rickshaw from the spot. One person was apprehended during the operation.
According to police, preliminary investigation revealed that Sahoo allegedly misused his previous position at a gas agency to access consumer details. He is suspected of identifying LPG consumers in slum areas with low usage and collecting their domestic gas consumer cards.
Police said the accused allegedly used these cards to book subsidised LPG cylinders in bulk and later diverted them to the black market. The cylinders were reportedly sold at inflated prices ranging between Rs 3,000 and Rs 3,500 each.
Investigators further stated that Sahoo allegedly paid around Rs 500 per cylinder as commission to some slum residents whose consumer cards were used in the racket.
Police have also seized gas booking receipts and multiple consumer cards during the raid. Further investigation is underway to identify other possible links in the supply chain.
