Lucknow, Nov 2 (IANS) A major theft from the pipeline of the state-owned Indian Oil Corp. has been detected in the Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh, police said Sunday.
However, no arrests have been made so far. Company officials and police suspect involvement of an engineer or technical person in the theft.
'The computer sensors of the Indian Oil detected a major leakage between Allahabad and Mirzapur. It appears to be the handiwork of some technical (person) as there was no spillage near the spot despite the fact that oil flows at a very high speed in the pipeline,' Mirzapur superintendent of police Pretinder Singh told IANS by phone.
He said company officials, who accompanied the police in the operation, claim that if an unskilled person tries to drill a hole in the pipeline, the pressure in the pipeline will spray the oil up to a height of nearly 30 feet.
'After the initial inspection, we suspect that the procedure took place about four days ago and Indian Oil officials suspect that over three tankers of diesel has been stolen,' he said.
Villagers of Mirzapur had noticed a jeep standing near the spot during the past few days. An inter-state gang could also be involved in the incident, Singh said.
'It was after a complaint that we unearthed the automated-computerised set up that was being used to steal oil in the Toswa village on the outskirts of the district,' he said.
The pipeline starts from the refinery in Barauni (Bihar) and ends at Mathura supplying petrol, diesel and kerosene to a large number of depots along the 750-km stretch.
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