Mumbai: An FIR has been registered against the manager of a gas distribution agency after he was found to be involved in the misappropriation of over 5,800 gas cylinders worth Rs 90 lakh. Bangur Nagar Police are investigating the case further.
Complaint Details
The FIR was lodged based on a complaint by the gas agency owner. The complaint states that the agency operates from Goregaon and has a godown in an empty space near Malad Back Road, where cylinders are stored before distribution.
Accused Profile
The accused, Kishan Ram, was hired as the manager of this godown. A native of Rajasthan, Ram had been working at the gas agency since August 2022.
Operations at Godown
The godown houses three types of gas cylinders: 5 kg commercial cylinders, 19 kg commercial cylinders, and 14 kg domestic cylinders. Deliverymen were responsible for transporting cylinders from the godown for distribution and returning empty cylinders. Ram was in charge of keeping records of cylinders taken for distribution and empty ones brought back.
Regulatory Restrictions
When the Iran war began, the state government imposed restrictions on gas cylinder distribution. A public sector oil and gas company, for which the complainant acts as a distributor, issued similar restrictions. The company also gave strict instructions to maintain records of cylinder distribution and return empty cylinders immediately.
Discrepancies Discovered
The complainant conveyed these instructions to Ram. However, when he inquired about the number of empty cylinders returned to the company, Ram gave evasive responses. The complainant then examined the godown records himself and found that empty cylinders were not being returned. When confronted, Ram offered to make a settlement.
Missing Cylinders
An examination of the records showed that 4,543 commercial cylinders (5 kg) worth Rs 43.43 lakh and 1,294 commercial cylinders (19 kg) worth Rs 46.58 lakh were untraceable. On June 1, Ram quit his job and switched off his phone. The complainant eventually approached Bangur Nagar Police and registered a complaint of misappropriation of cylinders worth Rs 90 lakh.
