Sivasagar Police arrest two absconding accused in oil theft racket

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SIVASAGAR: Sivasagar Police have apprehended two notorious oil thieves, Jelil Ahmed and Hamid Ali, who had been absconding for the past 22 days following a major oil theft incident that led to an explosion in the district.

According to police sources, the duo was arrested on Friday morning from Tingrai in Tinsukia district. Acting on specific inputs, the police team raided a private residence where the accused had been hiding. Both Jelil Ahmed and Hamid Ali were immediately taken into custody.

The arrests came as a result of continuous efforts by the Superintendent of Police, Sivasagar, under whose direction multiple operations had been carried out. The police team, led by IBI Inspector Utpal Dutta, along with Officer-in-Charge of Joysagar police station Jyotishman Bora, Transport Branch officers Bidyut Bikash Moran, Pradip Cheti,a and Debajit Buragohain, conducted the successful operation.

The case dates back to August 9, when a massive explosion occurred at an illegal oil depot at Bogidol Singhaduar in Sivasagar. The blast left two people critically injured and brought to light the rampant illegal trade of stolen crude oil in the area.

Investigations revealed that Jelil Ahmed and Hamid Ali had been running a flourishing illegal crude oil trade in the Singhaduar area for a long time, setting up clandestine depots and operating in a highly organized manner. After the August 9 explosion, both had gone into hiding to evade arrest.

With their arrest, police believe that they made a significant breakthrough in cracking down on the illegal oil theft racket in Upper Assam. Further interrogation of the duo is expected to shed light on the larger network involved in the theft and smuggling of crude oil in the region.

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