Jhansi: Police have arrested seven men following an encounter and recovered more than 500 LPG cylinders stolen during the Holi festivities in Jhansi, an official said on Wednesday.
Acting on a tip-off, police arrested Javed, Aamir, Ritik, Sumit, Shubhankar, Abhishek and Surendra, all residents of Jhansi, early on Wednesday near a gas warehouse on Gwalior Road, Senior Superintendent of Police B B G T S Murthy said.
Police also recovered Rs 11.10 lakh in cash and Rs 83,820 believed to be proceeds from the sale of the stolen cylinders from the accused.
According to police, the truck driver, Rajkumar, had parked a vehicle carrying 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 GPS device damaged. Police formed multiple teams to trace the stolen cylinders.
During interrogation, investigators found that Javed and Ritik, both former truck drivers associated with the gas plant, had allegedly planned the theft to make money.
The accused had reportedly struck a deal worth Rs 13 lakh with a gas agency in Samthar to sell the cylinders.
Based on information provided by the arrested men, police recovered all 524 stolen cylinders — including 389 filled and 135 empty — from the gas agency.
Police also recovered Rs 11.10 lakh in cash and Rs 83,820 believed to be the proceeds from the sale of the cylinders.
Officials said a monetary dispute of around Rs 60,000 to Rs 70,000 between the accused and the truck owner has also come to light and is being investigated.
A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Arms Act and the Motor Vehicles Act. All the accused have been sent to jail, police said.
With PTI inputs