Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Jul 17: Police personnel attached to Kadri station here, along with officials of food and civil supplies department, raided a rented house in Kulshekar in the city on Sunday July 16 and seized 41 LPG cylinders found to have been illegally stored there.

The police have identified the person who was found to be illegally storing LPG cylinders as Anantaraju (45) from Bijai here, who had rented a house in Kulshekar. Nine among these cylinders were commercial, and the balance domestic. The cylinders found belong to Bharat, HP and Indane LPG companies. Five of the cylinders were found to contain LPG.

It is said that Anantaraju used to illegally collect LPG cylinders and sell them to the needy at higher price.

Anantaraju had hired the said house from the owner of the house who works abroad,  on a monthly rental of Rs 8,000. As he failed to pay rent since the last six months, the owner, who had come from abroad, demanded payment of pending rent.  However, Anantaraju is said to have kept postponing payment on one pretext or the other. When he was asked to vacate the premises, he refused, duly claiming that he knows police officers and some ministers well, it is said. He also visited Kadri police station to complain against the house owner.

When approached, the house owner told the police inspector, Maruti Nayak, about the illegal business run by Anantaraju. The sub-inspector who visited the spot also found about the stock of LPG cylinders.  When he was asked to produce papers relating to his business, Anantaraju did not have anything.  The police then asked food and civil supplies department officials to come to the spot and took the cylinders into custody. The inspector in food department filed official complaint in Kadri station. The police are making arrangements to arrest the concerned, it is learnt.