Massive fire breaks out in Rajasthan, Police suspect crude oil theft

Jaipur: Mahuwa area of Rajasthan's Dausa district blew up in panic following a massive fire outbreak from the nearby factory on Saturday. The fire extinguishing officers were unable to put out the fire for a longer time.

"It was a pattal- dona (plates) manufacturing unit which caught fire at around 3 am on Friday. Fire brigades were pressed into service but they could not control the fire after which fire brigades from Jaipur were also called," said police while describing the incident.

Buddhi Prakash, station house officer of Mahuwa police station said that they have noticed a crude oil-like substance oozing out from the factory and highly suspect the factory to have stolen crude oil.

Although several fire brigades were at the location on duty, flames were escalating. More force from Jaipur was required to reduce the intensity of the fire. Such a condition is expected to arise only if the substance is crude oil, the officials said.

According to police, the oil could have been allegedly stolen from a pipeline that was passing 100 meters away from the factory.

District collector Qummer Ul Zaman Choudhary and Superintendent of Police Rajkumar Gupta who inspected the location said no conclusions on crude oil robbery can be made without proper investigation.