BIRATNAGAR: An investigation has been launched into an incident where petroleum products were stolen from a tanker dispatched from the Koshi Provincial Office of the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) in Biratnagar.

According to Pushkar Karki, head of NOC’s Koshi Provincial Office, tanker number Na.1Kha 9410 had left for the Biratnagar-Siliguri depot on June 19 carrying 20,000 liters of petrol. At around 8:00 PM that same evening, the tanker was parked in a staff parking area near Durga Chowk, close to Biratnagar. However, on June 22 at 9:00 AM, the transporter submitted a written notice stating that the tanker had gone missing from the parking lot.

Immediately upon receiving the information, NOC notified the District Police Office, Morang. A subsequent review of CCTV footage revealed that the tanker had left the parking area at 3:00 AM on June 22. Following a joint search operation by the police, NOC officials, and the transporter, the tanker was found approximately 17 kilometers away on the Itahari-Dharan section in Sunari district, with its locks broken.

In coordination with the District Police Office, Sunsari, the tanker was taken into custody, necessary legal documents were prepared, and it was brought back to the NOC depot parking lot on the same day, according to a press release issued by NOC on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, on June 24 at 1:00 PM, the tanker’s seal was opened and inspected in the presence of representatives from the District Administration Office, District Police Office, media personnel, NOC, and the transporter. The inspection confirmed that 737 liters of petrol out of the 20,000 liters had been stolen. The remaining 19,263 liters of petrol have been successfully deposited into the NOC storage.

Office Chief Karki stated that NOC has initiated the process to recover the compensation for the stolen fuel from the transporter, in accordance with the Petroleum Products Transportation Regulation 2014.