The gas cylinders became so sought after that they ended up being hidden in the cemetery in a major country
Police in Hyderabad this week seized 414 cooking gas cylinders hidden in a cemetery and arrested people involved in an attempt to sell them on the black market amid shortages in India caused by the Middle East conflict, a government official said on Thursday.
Authorities in India have stepped up raids to curb excessive storage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders after the war waged against Iran by the United States and Israel disrupted shipping, causing supply shortages.
India, the world's fourth largest economy by GDP and population, is the world's second largest importer of LPG. It covers about 60% of its needs through foreign purchases, mainly from the Middle East.
“Just yesterday, about 2,600 raids were conducted and about 700 cylinders were seized,” said Sujata Sharma, a director in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, at a regular briefing on the war crisis.
“Additionally, around 400 cylinders were recently found at one location in a graveyard in Hyderabad. Ten people were detained there and the dealer involved was suspended,” she said.
Gas cylinders were sold from the cemetery
Police said the accused were selling both commercial and domestic cylinders from the graveyard at almost three times the current market price. A commercial bottle costing about 2,100 Indian rupees ($22) had been sold for as much as 6,000 rupees.
The officers also said that the total value of the seized cylinders and some vehicles used by the accused amounted to nearly 2.2 million rupees.
“Natural gas supply to domestic consumers is 100% assured,” Sharma said. “In terms of LPG supply, prices have remained stable despite international volatility and there has been no increase in the price of domestic cylinders,” she added.
To reduce pressure on LPG supplies, India has promoted the use of alternatives such as kerosene, coal and biogas, while accelerating the expansion of pipelined natural gas networks for households.
