Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Jan 15: Police arrested four individuals involved in the illegal theft and storage of diesel from tanker trucks at Baala in the taluk. Acting on credible information, a police team raided a tanker yard in Baala, where suspects were found siphoning diesel from a tanker and storing it in a nearby shed without the owner’s knowledge.

The accused have been identified as Santosh (42) from Kulayigudde, Mangaluru; Ritesh Menezes (36) from Katipalla, Suratkal; Narayan (23), from Kadirudhyavara in Beltangady; and Ravi Janardhan Putran (59), from Hejamady, Udupi district.

The raid led to the seizure of 1,685 liters of diesel and 20 litters of petrol, totalling 1,705 litres, along with other assets including four mobile phones. The total value of the seized fuel and assets is estimated at Rs 2,02,000, with the fuel worth Rs 1,52,000 and the mobile phones valued at Rs 50,000.

A case has been registered at Surathkal police station under Crime No. 05/2025 U/s 287, 303(1) of the BNS Act 2023, and sections 3, 4, 5 R/W 23 of the Petroleum Products (Maintenance of Petroleum Storage and Supply Order). The accused are also charged under the Essential Commodities Act.

The operation was conducted under the guidance of police commissioner Anupam Agarwal and the supervision of DCP (Law & Order) Siddharth Goel and DCP (Crime & Traffic) Ravishankar. Assistant police commissioner (North Subdivision) Shrikant K led the raid, assisted by personnel including ASI Prakash Murthy, HC Udayakumar, Kumaraswamy, and PCs Halesh Nayak, Sunil, Anand, Ashok, and Basavaraj.