Lucknow: A joint team of the food and civil supplies department conducted a raid at a city resort on Saturday and seized 88 domestic LPG cylinders allegedly stored illegally on the outskirts of Lucknow, officials said.A case was registered against five people, including the owner and manager of a gas agency, under the provisions of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.Police said that the owner of the resort, Surendra Kumar, was associated with the Samajwadi Party and had contested the 2022 assembly election from Malihabad seat from the party ticket.According to officials, the action was initiated after the district supply officer (DSO), Lucknow, received a tip-off that domestic gas cylinders were being illegally stored and black-marketed at a resort on Mohan Road.Acting on the information, a joint team led by the district supply officer reached the resort where the officers found a vehicle bearing the marking of Aseem Bharat Gas Agency, Alambagh.During inspection, they found 65 empty domestic LPG cylinders of 14.2kg capacity, nine filled cylinders of the same capacity, and 14 empty cylinders of 6kg capacity.Officials said the people present at the resort could not produce any refill vouchers or legal documents authorising the storage or transportation of the cylinders.Owner of the resort, Surendra Kumar, reached the spot and told officials that the gas agency operates in the name of his wife.He said that Munna alias Iqtida Hussain, who managed the agency, arranged the dealership around a year ago.Surendra told officials that a new warehouse was recently constructed in Ibrahimganj village, but vehicles were unable to reach the facility due to poor access. As a result, gas vehicles were temporarily parked at the resort for the past 3-4 days.Officials said Surendra failed to produce any documents authorising the storage of LPG cylinders at the resort.During further inspection, the team also found a truck parked about 600 metres from the warehouse site. The driver told officials that he had transported 360 domestic LPG cylinders from the bottling plant on Kursi Road earlier that day.He claimed he parked the truck in a field and was unloading cylinders with the help of labourers on the instructions of the owner, but no agency staff were present at the location.Officials said the cylinders were illegally stored in an unauthorised location with the intention of black marketing, in violation of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order, 2000.An FIR was registered at Kakori police station under Sections 3 and 7 of the Essential Commodities Act.The accused included Jameel Ahmad, Sahil, Munna alias Iqtida Hussain (agency manager), Surendra Kumar (resort owner), and Manju Kanaujia (proprietor of the gas agency).
