Indore (Madhya Pradesh): In a major breakthrough in the crackdown on illegal petroleum trading, local food department seized more than 11,000 litres of a highly flammable petroleum substance from a firm in the city on Tuesday. The raid was conducted by a joint team from the food department, following an order from collector Asheesh Singh.
The action is part of an ongoing effort to protect public safety from illegal storage and trading of dangerous petroleum products. Following a tip-off, district supply controller ML Maru said, the surprise inspection was conducted at Mark Enterprises, located at Mechanic Nagar, Scheme No 71. The team found 56 fully filled drums, each containing 200 litres of a highly flammable substance, along with over 400 empty drums, stored in the firm’s warehouse.
Preliminary tests on-site confirmed the substance's flammability when it was set alight using a cloth. Owner AnkitBafna presented a bill from Alliance Corporation in Gujarat, labelling the product as industrial fuel oil. However, no valid documents such as a bill of sale, detailed product information, or safety certificates from the Explosives Department were provided.
Furthermore, no factory or industrial site was found in connection with the supposed use of the industrial oil, raising suspicions of illegal trading. In addition to the missing documentation, the warehouse lacked fire safety measures, further heightening the risk to public safety. Given the hazardous nature of the substance, officials sealed the premises after seizing the 11,200 liters of petroleum product. The seized material has been transferred to a secure location, and samples have been sent to an authorised laboratory for testing.
“Mark Enterprises and Bafna now face charges under sections 3 and 7 of the Essential Commodities Act for illegal storage and sale of the flammable substance. The investigation is ongoing to determine who else may have been involved and where the product was being distributed,” Maru said. Officials involved in the raid included junior supply officer DilipManware and inspectors ShivsundarVyas, Rahul Sharma, and Saurabh Yadav.
