Police have launched an investigation after unidentified persons tried to siphon crude oil by illegally tapping the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) pipeline in Rajasthan’s Tonk district, police said on Friday after the company detected an abnormal drop in pressure and discovered a 40-foot underground pipeline connected to its crude oil network.
Engineers from IOCL went to inspect Ladi village in Malpura subdivision on Thursday after discovering an abnormal pressure drop in a crude oil pipeline. During the inspection, they discovered an illegal pipeline connected to the main IOCL pipeline.
According to officials, the company first noticed the low pressure in the pipeline on June 1, after which a team of experts began examining the entire stretch of the crude oil pipeline to determine the source of the problem.
A 40-feet long illegal pipeline was found tucked underground through farmland and connected to the IOCL pipeline to draw crude oil.
After removing the illegal connection and repairing the pipeline, IOCL filed a police complaint against unknown persons.
Police suspect that the defendants were planning to extend the illegal pipeline further.
Additional Superintendent of Police, Pushpendra Solanki, said that a case has been registered against unidentified persons for trying to steal crude oil.
“The company’s security personnel are conducting routine inspections of the pipeline, but they did not detect the illegal connection earlier,” Solanki said.
He added that the materials used in the illegal pipeline appeared to be new, indicating that it had been installed recently. “The fact that the accused managed to connect an illegal pipeline to a high-pressure crude oil pipeline suggests that people with technical expertise may have been involved,” Solanki said.
The police launched an investigation into an attempt to steal crude oil, and said that the accused would be identified and arrested soon.
