Pipeline pirates: 2 Delhi kingpins arrested for oil theft via tunnels across north India

Two Delhi-based masterminds behind a long-running oil pilferage network operating across north India have been arrested, the police said on Thursday.

The accused, Swaran Singh, 55, and his 50-year-old brother-in-law, Dharmender, alias Rinku, have been involved in organised fuel theft for over three decades, repeatedly adapting their methods after each stint in jail. Both carried a reward of ₹25,000 announced by the Rajasthan police. The duo was arrested in West Delhi’s Vikaspuri Nagar Nala on Wednesday in connection with a case registered in Jaipur.

On June 10, the Rajasthan police detected diesel theft from a Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) pipeline near Vasundhara Colony in Dahmi Kalan village. At the site, officers found Rajesh Urang, 47, a resident of Assam living there as a tenant.

Inside his rented house, the police discovered digging tools and a tunnel carved out from one of the rooms. An iron pipe fitted with three valves had been connected to the HPCL multipurpose pipeline via this tunnel, with a transparent pipe channelling diesel into a plastic storage tank.

Mr. Rajesh was arrested on the spot. During questioning, he disclosed that Mr. Singh and his associates had set up the tapping mechanism. Acting on specific inputs and technical surveillance, the anti-gangster squad of the Delhi Police Crime Branch tracked down and arrested both men.

Criminal history

Officials said the two had been declared proclaimed offenders in cases registered in Haryana and Punjab. Mr. Singh’s criminal history dates back to 1992, when he worked as a Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) tanker driver supplying fuel to Delhi airport. He began pilfering fuel and selling it illegally, was arrested, and returned to crime after release.

The police said the stolen diesel was transported at night using hired vehicles and sold to unauthorised buyers at discounted rates. By 2011-12, similar set-ups had been installed in Gurugram and Jaipur. In 2014, the accused replicated the method in Paschim Vihar, Delhi, and expanded into Punjab the following year.

“In recent visits to Jaipur, he was selling fuel directly from the tapped pipeline, not even using pumps. Both were deeply involved in planning and executing pipeline tapping,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Harsh Indora.