No action forthcoming, civil supplies dept, cops and oil Co pass the buck

the goan I networkrMARGAO rrThe Colva police station in-charge, PI Filomena Costa, says he has handed over the gas cylinders to the inspector of civil supplies, Ramkrishna Salgaonkar, who claims to have handed over the seized items to the area manager of rHindustan Petroleum for further action. r The area officer HP, Vaibhag Bhagat, told The Goan on Monday that his office has issued show cause notice to Damodar Gas Agency, seeking explanation within seven days as per the company’s laid down guidelines. Bhagat, however, said that criminal action, if any, is the look out of the civil supplies inspector or the police, adding that that petroleum company does not investigate into the criminal liability of the gas agency or the employees. r When The Goan contacted PI Filomena Costa to shed light on the progress of investigations into the alleged gas pilferage, he said the police have not registered an FIR since it has not received any complaint from the civil supplies department. On the other hand, civil supplies inspector Salgaonkar maintained that the police cannot expect the civil supplies department to initiate criminal action when the department was informed by the police about the illegal transfer of LPG gas from a domestic cylinder into an empty commercial one. r Citizens feared that abdication of responsibility by the departments may leave the employees and the gas agency owner scot-free. “Why have the authorities still not booked the gas agency or the employees for the criminal act of gas pilferage,” Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao questioned. r Local residents were apprehensive that delay in initiating criminal action against the erring employees or the gas agency may further embolden unscrupulous gas agency to continue to exploit gullible LPG rconsumers.