IOCL pipeline: Miscreants drill hole, steal hundreds of liter of oil in Odisha

Thieves allegedly drilled a hole in the Indian Oil pipeline and stole around 250 litres of oil despite the deployment of CISF personnel and an in-built automatic alert system. The thieves allegedly drilled a huge hole in the 5-km-long pipeline in the Bauriapalanda area within Paradip model police limits.

The pipeline supplies oil from the jetty at Paradip port to IOCL depot, The New Indian Express reported. The miscreants not only stole around 250 litres of oil but also managed to escape despite the heavy deployment of security personnel, reports said.

The patrolling team came to know about the matter through the automatic alert system. But, the thieves had fled by the time the security personnel reached the spot. On receiving the alert, a team from Indian Oil was reportedly dispatched.

The incident has emerged as a cause of concern for locals who fear a possible mishap during the oil theft. It is alleged that a well-organized racket is involved in repeated theft of oil from the pipeline.

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According to The New Indian Express Indian Oil’s marketing manager, Somyaranjan Gochhayat, lodged an FIR with the Paradip Model police station regarding the theft. IIC Suchitra Birya Das said the stolen oil barrels were seized from the spot. 

“Investigation is on and no arrests have been made so far,” IIC Suchitra informed.