Delhi Police finally catch duo behind decades-long oil pipeline thefts
After building a criminal career spanning more than 30 years, Swaran Singh (55) and Dharmender Singh (50) have been arrested by Delhi Police for masterminding a series of underground oil pipeline thefts across several states.
Their scheme was surprisingly elaborate—they rented homes near pipelines, dug secret tunnels, and installed custom valves to quietly siphon off fuel into hidden tanks.
Both had bounties of ₹25,000 on their heads and had managed to dodge police since June 2025.
How they got caught—and what's next
Singh began his criminal journey back in 1992 as a tanker driver before shifting to large-scale pipeline tapping around 2011, mostly operating at night under the cover of small businesses.
The plot unraveled when authorities in Rajasthan noticed tampering on an HPCL pipeline near Dahmi Kalan.
That discovery led to a months-long, multi-state investigation using tech surveillance, eventually ending with their arrest near Vikaspuri drain in Delhi on Wednesday.
The two now face multiple charges—including theft and damaging pipelines—across Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Punjab.