Caught red-handed: Police nab men who tried to steal oil from PARCO pipeline

An FIR was registered against the SHO, two men who were allegedly involved in the act.

SUKKUR:

The Shikarpur police foiled an attempt to steal oil, worth millions of rupees, from the pipeline of Pak Arab Refinery Company (Parco) from the remits of Dakhan police station in Shikarpur district.

The police have arrested two men and impounded a tanker, while the Dakhan police station SHO has been suspended from duty and reverted back to the position of ASI. The police team raided the katcha area of Dakhan police station after receiving a tip-off and managed to arrest two men, who were allegedly stealing oil from the Parco pipeline. Sources revealed that the accused had filled approximately 15,000 litres of oil in the tanker when the police apprehended them.

As a result, Dakhan police SHO Ghulam Mohammad Bozdar was suspended and reverted to the post of sub-inspector from the post of inspector. He was ordered to report to police lines for further orders. When contacted at Dakhan police station, the assistant head constable, Shafi Mohammad, said he was unaware of the incident. The SHO in question has reportedly been suspended and reverted but he was not aware of any arrests, he said.

Another official at the Dakhan police station, Mumtaz Ali, at first denied knowledge of the incident, saying that he was on leave and knew nothing about it. When this correspondent, however, told him that the SSP had confirmed the incident, he said that two persons had been apprehended while stealing oil from Parco pipeline, but he did not know their names. He also confimed that SHO Ghulam Mohammad Bozdar had been suspended and that the station was waiting for the new SHO to report for duty.

Shikarpur SSP Azfar Mahesar told The Express Tribune that he had received a tip-off about the oil theft from the Parco pipeline late on Friday night and immediately dispatched his team. He said that the police reached the site and impounded the tanker, which was being filled with oil.

He added that the police had also arrested two people but declined to disclose their names. He further confirmed that, the SHO Dakhan police station Ghulam Mohammad Bozdar had been suspended and reverted to a lower post and that an FIR had been registered against the culprits including the SHO.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23^rd, 2013.