The Rajasthan Police has busted a gang involved in stealing high-quality, imported coal during transportation from the Gujarat port to northern states via Rajasthan, officials said on Thursday.
According to the crime branch of the state police, coal imported from the US and Russia worth around Rs 10 crore was being stolen every day from trucks transporting it to Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh.
Thirteen teams of the crime branch conducted raids at around a dozen places in five districts, Jalore, Pali, Barmer, Bikaner and Jodhpur, and detained 19 people, including drivers and cleaners of the trucks, on Wednesday night. The teams also seized trucks, tractors, machines, and 1,850 tonnes of stolen coal, they said. The action was taken on the direction of Additional Director General of Police (Crime) Dinesh MN and was monitored by Deputy Inspector General of Police Rahul Prakash. “Around 500 trucks transport high-quality coal imported from the US and Russia from Gujarat port to different states via Rajasthan daily.