Hyderabad, March 30 (IANS) Amid the ongoing shortage of LPG due to the Gulf war, Hyderabad Police on Monday busted an illegal LPG cylinder hoarding racket with the arrest of 10 persons and seizure of 414 cylinders hidden in a graveyard.

Hyderabad Commissioner’s Task Force, along with Banjara Hills Police, busted the racket.

According to Police Commissioner V. C. Sajjanar, the accused were found illegally hoarding 414 LPG cylinders at a graveyard in Banjara Hills to sell them at inflated prices for wrongful gain.

Total properties worth Rs 21.88 lakh, including 11 transport vehicles, have been seized from their possession. “We are committed to ensuring public safety and will take stern action against anyone involved in illegal hoarding and black marketing,” the Commissioner posted on X.

Earlier, Gaikwad Vaibhav Raghunath, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Commissioner’s Task Force, announced the busting of the racket at a press conference.

The accused had illegally dumped HP cylinders at a graveyard near Nagarjuna X Road, Banjara Hills, and were selling the same to needy customers on high rate.

A gas supplier, three gas delivery boys, two drivers and labourers were among those arrested.

The seized cylinders include 30 full cylinders of 47 kgs, 148 full cylinders of 19 kgs, 192 empty cylinders of 19 kgs, 35 full cylinders of five kgs and nine cylinders of five kgs.

Two DCM vehicles, two Bolleros, one Tata Ace, one Tata, four Piaggio auto vehicles and a Tata Magic were among the vehicles.

According to police, the accused, Mohd. Aamir is running a licensed HP gas agency under the name “Metro Gas Agency”. It is located at Mamidipalle Village, Shamshabad, while its office is situated near Afzalgunj, Hyderabad.

It was found that the accused has been illegally dumping HP gas cylinders at a graveyard located near Nagarjuna X Road, Banjara Hills, with the help of labourers in clear violation of the prescribed rules and regulations. Further, the accused have been selling these gas cylinders to customers at inflated prices, thereby exploiting the public for wrongful gain, the DCP said.

The other arrested persons are Mohd. Yousuf, Mohd. Ismail, A. Rama Rao, Lok Kumar, Mohd. Sakruddin, Mohd. Muntaz Ansari, Mohd. Minaj Ansari, Rajesh Pal and Ram Raj Singh.

--IANS

ms/uk