Jaipur, March 23 (IANS) Amid the ongoing LPG shortage, a video is going viral on the social media showing a dramatic incident of a gas cylinder theft which was reported from Rajasthan's Jaipur, where alert locals chased down and caught one of the accused thief after his scooty skidded during the escape.

According to eyewitnesses, one youth is seen standing outside keeping a watch while the other entered the house and brought out the cylinder.

The duo were then seen placing the LPG cylinder on their scooty and attempting to flee the spot.

However, while taking a turn in the narrow lane, the scooty went out of control and both fell onto the road along with the cylinder.

Sensing an opportunity, locals immediately chased the accused.

One of the accused managed to escape on the scooty, while the other was caught after a brief pursuit.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (East), Sanjeev Nain, identified the accused as Rohit (19), a resident of Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh.

He was living in a rented room near Lalkothi Sabzi Mandi in Jaipur.

During questioning, Rohit revealed that he committed the theft at the behest of another person, lured by easy money.

After being caught, locals handed over the accused to Bajaj Nagar Police.

A search is underway to trace the absconding accomplice.

The incident took place on Sunday around 9 a.m. in lane number-5 of Adarsh Bazaar in Jaipur's Barkat Nagar.

Two young men arrived on a scooty and targeted a house, stealing a gas cylinder kept in the porch, officials said.

A similar case was recently reported in Alwar, where miscreants stole an LPG cylinder from a house in Madhuban Bank Colony in broad daylight, highlighting a worrying trend amid the ongoing gas shortage in Rajasthan.

--IANS

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