MUZAFFARGARH: Two persons were arrested for stealing while their accomplices escaped as the authorities busted a gang involved in stealing diesel from the Pak Arab Refinery Company (Parco) Limited pipelines in Rangpur near Qasba Gujrat, some 80km from here.

According to the sources, the Parco field supervisor told police he was checking the pipelines when they found a tanker parked in the Balochistan Hotel on Jhang Road. Some suspicious people were busy stealing the oil from a pipeline that was tampered with and they were filling the oil tanker. Police were informed about it but the suspects fled before the arrival of police.

Rangpur police arrested two servants of the hotel while the owner of hotel, Chaudhry Yousuf and his accomplices, Nasir, Mubashir, Nadeem, Arshad Noon and Yasir fled from the spot.

Police registered a case against them.

The gang had constructed a hotel on the Karachi-Sheikhupura pipelines and was busy stealing the oil for long.

Parco Supervisor Muhammad Mansha said thousands litres had been stolen by the gang.

Dawn has learnt that the activity was going on many years back by different gangs allegedly in connivance with police and the Parco officials. During the recent years, 29 cases had been registered against many accused but they were released after payment of minor fine while nobody had been punished.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2021