68 LPG Cylinders Seized From Abandoned Vehicle in Chembur

Food and Civil Supplies Department officials seized 68 filled LPG cylinders from an abandoned four-wheeler parked near Tilak Nagar Bridge on Cell Colony Road in Chembur on August 24. A case has been registered against the unidentified owner of the vehicle under provisions of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order, 2000.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), the complainant, 53-year-old Nitin Madhukar Dhumal, who works as a Rationing Officer at Rationing Office No. 19, received information at around 2 pm on August 24 regarding the alleged illegal storage of LPG cylinders in the area.

A team comprising rationing inspectors Ramraje Bhosale, Vikas Nagdive, and Chandrakant Kamble, along with other officials from Rationing Office No. 19 in Kurla, reached the spot with panch witnesses to inspect parked vehicles in the vicinity.

During the initial inspection, an individual identified as Ashish Chavan approached the team, stating he was supervising LPG cylinders at the location. He directed officials to two parked trucks registered under numbers MH-13-CU-6058 and MH-03-EG-2537. The team questioned driver Mohammed Mustaqim Naseem Ahmed Khan, who provided invoices showing the first truck was loaded for Honesty Gas Service with 235 commercial 19-kg cylinders, while the second contained 93 empty 19-kg cylinders for Cookwell Gas Agency.

Officials then inspected a third vehicle, a four-wheeler bearing registration number MH-03-CV-8943. The vehicle was non-operational and appeared to have been parked at the location for several days. When questioned, Chavan stated he had no knowledge of the vehicle or its contents.

Suspecting unauthorised storage, rationing inspector Ramraje Bhosale contacted the emergency police helpline 112. Police Sub-Inspector Yakub Naik and police constable Ajay Malhari Ombase from Tilak Nagar police station arrived at the scene. Because the vehicle could not be driven or moved, officials sealed it at the site.

A subsequent check revealed 68 filled five-kilogram LPG cylinders inside the sealed vehicle. The rationing department noted that the cylinders were being stored without authorisation in an area frequented by vehicular traffic.

Tilak Nagar police have registered a case under Sections 3, 7, and 8 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and Sections 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 of the LPG (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order, 2000. Police are investigating to trace the vehicle owner and determine where the cylinders were sourced from and where they were meant to be delivered.