Bathinda, May 2: Police in Sangat Mandi have initiated legal proceedings against a local gas agency management team after a late-night confrontation involving the alleged illegal distribution of LPG cylinders. The crackdown resulted in the impounding of an agency Bolero and a private car used to transport 48 filled cylinders under suspicious circumstances.
The disruption began late Friday evening when market residents noticed an agency vehicle arriving at a local shop. Suspicions arose when the operators could not produce legal delivery records, leading to a blockade by the community. DSP Bathinda Rural Harvinder Singh Sran and a police party reached the spot to manage the growing crowd, which had started raising slogans against the district authorities and the gas company.
“The district administration took possession of the vehicles at 11:30 p.m. to ensure a proper investigation into the black marketing of essential commodities,” stated Inspector Sukhwinder Singh Brar. He noted that the police have charged the agency owner and the driver with violations of the Essential Commodities Act.
The controversy was further fueled by a standoff between local trade leaders and company officials over the handling of the agency’s records. Naresh Kumar Goyal, a local representative, asserted that the response from the company’s sales department was derogatory toward the residents and the shopkeepers of Sangat Mandi. He declared that a formal complaint would be lodged with the Chief Minister regarding the conduct of the concerned officials.
Gurtej Singh, an official from the Food and Supply Department, stated that an audit of the agency’s documentation showed significant flaws. He maintained that the department is moving toward strict enforcement measures to address the disarray observed in the agency’s operations over the past two months. Following these assurances, the local market resumed normal operations on Saturday afternoon.
