Butwal, September 15
Police have detained two tankers after they were allegedly found stealing petroleum products being transported from India to the Nepal Oil Corporation’s Bhalwari depot in Rupandehi.
A team deployed from the Lumbini Province Police Office in Dang detained the two tankers while they were allegedly unloading petroleum products at Saraf Oil Centre in Bhairahawa on Tuesday.
According to police, the tankers had arrived at the oil centre after transporting petroleum products from India to the Bhalwari depot. The District Police Office, Rupandehi, said the tankers were found unloading fuel when police raided the centre at around 10 am. The tankers bore registration numbers Lu 2 Kha 1544 and Lu 1 Kha 6504.
Police said the seals on both tankers had been broken and petroleum products were being removed. The tankers and one co-driver have been taken into custody for further investigation.
Questions raised over depot
Some sources familiar with the matter have claimed that fuel has allegedly been stolen for a long time through collusion between tanker operators transporting petroleum products to the Bhalwari depot and petrol station operators.
According to the sources, the Bhalwari depot has not been regularly checking the condition of tanker seals or adequately measuring the petroleum products received from India.
There have been previous incidents of fuel theft involving tankers transporting petroleum products to the Bhalwari depot. The latest incident has raised questions about the system for transporting petroleum products, checking tanker seals and measuring fuel at the depot.
