Bengaluru: Amid concerns over LPG supply, a cooking gas cylinder was stolen from a house in Channapatna near Bengaluru last week, police said. The theft took place on March 7 at the house of Krishnappa when the family was away. The incident came to light when they later tried to replace the cylinder in their kitchen and found that the spare one kept in the house compound was missing.
“The family would keep the extra cylinder in the house compound, but it was missing. Krishnappa scanned CCTV footage and discovered the theft,” a police officer said. According to police, CCTV footage showed two youths arriving near the house on a gearless scooter.
“The youth who stole the cylinder came on a gearless scooter with a rider. They seemed to know where the cylinder was kept. They lifted it and walked away from the house,” the officer added.
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Meanwhile, in a separate case in Madurai, police arrested two people for allegedly hoarding 398 LPG cylinders for black marketing. Officials said the accused were detained under the Goondas Act, marking the first time such strict action has been taken in the state for large-scale cylinder hoarding.The arrests followed a tip-off received by the Civil Supplies Criminal Investigation Department about the illegal diversion of subsidised domestic gas cylinders for commercial use.
Amid the panic over fuel availability, the Tamil Nadu Petroleum Dealers’ Association has urged people not to panic-buy petrol or diesel.
The association said that 14 fuel terminals in the state currently have enough stock to supply more than 7,000 retail outlets and meet regular demand.
Gas Booking Rules Changed
In an new rule, the Indian government has also increased the LPG bookings days in wake of current LPG situation. In rural areas, the minimum waiting period between bookings has been increased to 45 days from 25 days. In urban areas, the gap has been raised to 25 days from 21 days.Hardeep Singh Puri announced the change while addressing the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
“A 25-day minimum booking gap has been introduced as a demand management measure in urban areas and 45 days in rural and durgam kshetra areas,” Puri said.
(With Inputs from PTI)
