UP Police unearths scam in Ujjwala Yojana; over 4,000 cylinders seized

Balrampur: Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday cracked down on a rural LPG agency in connection with a scam in Prime Minister's 'Ujjwala Yojana' scheme and recovered 4,912 LPG cylinders and over 6,000 regulators hidden in bushes and godowns in Pachperwa of Balrampur district.

The gas agency in Pachperwa, Bhargav Indian Rural Distributor, has been sealed by the police.

"After identification of every cylinder, we recovered 8,912 surplus cylinders, 4,912 LPG cylinders and 6,364 regulators with no accountability from Bhargav Gas agency," District Magistrate Krishna Karunesh said on being asked about the scam.

The district administration learned about the scam after some locals informed them that a huge number of gas cylinders, which were to be distributed among Tharu tribal women, were found lying around in the area.

Soon after villagers filled gas connection forms, the agency started getting cylinders but instead of supplying them, the agency started selling them in black.

According to villagers, they paid an amount of Rs 500-Rs 1500 to fill the form.

It was revealed that the cylinders provided under Prime Minister's Ujjwala scheme were not given to villagers for the last two years.

An FIR has been filed against five people, including the gas agency operator, at the Pachperwa police station.

DM said that a letter has been written to oil companies to investigate other agencies.