Oil loot in Khagaria: As fuel prices soaring at a record high for more than two years now, a village in Bihar got a golden opportunity to get it for free on Tuesday. According to police, the incident was reported in a remote village in the Khagaria district, wherein the villagers rushed to a field to collect fuel after they found oil began oozing onto the surface.
While speaking to the media, police officials said that the villagers got mad as they witnessed oil leakage from an oil pipeline. It added that the villagers rushed to the spot with whatever they could get to collect the oil. As of now, a senior police official said that the area has been sealed by the local police and warned villagers to stay away from the field.
SP warns villagers not to strike matches near the field
"We have sealed the maize fields in Bakiya village where oil began oozing onto the surface in the morning. Villagers have been strictly warned against striking matches or engaging in any activity that could lead to a fire", said Superintendent of Police Amitesh Ravi.
He added that officials of the Indian Oil Corporation have been informed about the incident and police personnel were on guard to restrain villagers who merrily ran to the fields with whatever type of containers they could lay hands on and purloin as much as they could.
The SP said a pipeline from the Barauni oil refinery in the adjoining district of Begusarai passed underneath the ground in the village. "The pipeline may have developed cracks. It will be known definitively once IOC officials inspect the site. Till then it will remain out of bounds for the public", he added.
(With inputs from PTI)
