Mangaluru (Karnataka), March 10 A 35-year-old man was arrested for allegedly storing large quantities of diesel without a license in Dakshina Kannada district, police said on Tuesday.
The incident occurred in Mudalthiyar, a village in the Kaniyooru area of the Belthangady taluk in this district, they said.
Acting on a tip-off received by Belthangady Sub-Divisional Police Officer Rohini C K, a police team conducted a raid at the location on the night of March 9, officials said.
During the search, officers found diesel stored in a shed near the house of the accused, identified as Jagadeesh, a senior police officer said.
Police said that approximately 20 barrels, each with a capacity of around 200 litres, and five cans, each with a capacity of approximately 35 litres, were found filled with diesel.
In total, around 4,175 litres of diesel, worth approximately Rs 3.5 lakh, were seized from the premises.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the fuel had been stored without any valid license and without adhering to mandatory safety regulations, posing potential safety risks, police said.
A case has been registered at the Uppinangady Police Station, and further investigation is underway.
Officials noted that the village in this incident is located near the 280-kilometer Mangalore-Bangalore Petroleum Pipeline owned by Petronet India, which starts near MRPL in Dakshina Kannada and ends in the Devanagundi village just outside Nelamangala near Bengaluru. It passes through the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats region in Dakshina Kannada and Chikkamgaluru districts.