Authorities suspect gas theft in Vimannagar LPG cylinder blast, probe on

Safety concerns have been raised by the citizens following the Wednesday afternoon explosion of twelve liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders in the Viman Nagar area near the airport. The event happened close to Symbiosis College, which is conveniently close to the Pune Airport. Around 2:30 in the afternoon, residents reported hearing a loud explosion, followed by massive flames and smoke engulfing the Airport Road incident site. Two delivery workers of a petroleum company's LPG distribution agency and the owner of the property where cylinders were being unlawfully stored have been taken into custody in relation to the explosion of several cylinders in Vimannagar on Wednesday.

"Deepak Devkar, (age 58), a resident of Viman Nagar, who is the owner of the warehouse, Shyam Bishnoi, a native of Rajasthan, the operator of the gas agency, and an assistant have been charged by the police with attempted murder, carelessness with flammable materials, and violations of the Essential Commodities Act, further probe in the case is underway,” said Anandrao Khobre senior police inspector of the Vimantal Police station. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 4) Shashikan Borate said, “The accused used the LPG cylinders for distribution and illegally refilled the LPG cylinders in the illicit warehouse. The gas from commercial cylinders was filled in the domestic LPG cylinders. The police have seized the filling equipment, a weighing scale and an LPG cylinder from the blast site. The Bharat Petroleum Company Limited (BPCL) has also initiated an investigation in this regard. The arrested accused has been ordered police custody till December 30.”

Multiple instances of LPG cylinder blasts were reported in the past from Hadapsar, Paud Road, Wadgaonsheri, Katraj and other parts of the city. A major explosion occurred in Tathawade where buses of the nearby college were engulfed in fire.  The major cause of fire in all the incidents was said to be the illegal storage refilling of the cylinders.   The district authorities have initiated strict action against the illegal LPG mafias and asked the agencies to increase vigil after the Vimannagar incident.