Jhansi (UP), March 11 Police have arrested seven men after an encounter and recovered more than 500 LPG cylinders stolen during the Holi festivities in Jhansi, an official said on Wednesday.
Following a tip-off, the police arrested Javed, Aamir, Ritik, Sumit, Shubhankar, Abhishek and Surendra, all residents of Jhansi, on early Wednesday near a gas warehouse on the Gwalior Road, Senior Superintendent of Police B B G T S Murthy said.
The police also recovered Rs 11.10 lakh in cash and Rs 83,820 believed to be proceeds from the sale of cylinders, from their possession, he said.
According to the police, the truck driver, Rajkumar, had parked the vehicle loaded with 524 filled LPG cylinders outside the Bharat Petroleum depot in the Sipri Bazar area on March 2 before leaving for his home to celebrate Holi.
When he returned on March 6, the truck was missing, following which the owner, Neeraj Agrawal, lodged a complaint.
The truck was later found abandoned in the Baragaon area, with its damaged GPS, police said, adding that multiple teams were formed to trace the stolen cylinders.
During interrogation, police found that Javed and Ritik, former truck drivers associated with the gas plant, had hatched the plan to steal the cylinders and earn money.
The accused had allegedly struck a deal worth Rs 13 lakh with a gas agency in Samthar to sell the cylinders.
Acting on the information provided by the arrested accused, police recovered all 524 stolen cylinders, including 389 filled and 135 empty ones, from the gas agency.
Police also recovered Rs 11.10 lakh in cash and Rs 83,820 believed to be proceeds from the sale of cylinders.
Officials said a monetary dispute of around Rs 60,000-70,000 between the accused and the truck owner has also come to light and is being probed.
A case has been registered under the relevant sections of the BNS, the Arms Act and the Motor Vehicles Act, and all the accused have been sent to jail, police said.
