The crisis of illegal hoarding? Read how LPG concerns are being fanned while miscreants are hoarding cylinders to sell for high profit

Hoarders and black-marketers are not only fanning the rumours of an LPG shortage but also creating an artificial shortage of the domestic and commercial cooking gas across the country. Feeding on the fears of India’s fuel supply being disrupted due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, these hoarders and black-marketers have found an opportunity to make undue profits. As consumers are panic-buying LPG cylinders amid rumours of shortage, these hoarders are making huge money by selling the cylinders at double the price. Many incidents of large numbers of hoarded LPG cylinders being seized by authorities have been reported from across the country in the past several days. This is despite the Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, assuring people on Thursday (March 12, 2026) that India’s fuel supply is entirely protected. Here is a look at some incidents where local authorities busted the hoarding of LPG cylinders in various states of the country: 1,483 locations raided, 20 FIRs lodged against LPG hoarders in Uttar Pradesh During an action against illegal stockpiling of LPG cylinders in Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, the authorities recently seized 55 filled LPG cylinders from a premises belonging to Abdul Rehan, who is said to be a member of the Samajwadi Party. On receiving inputs about hoarding of LPG cylinders, the local authorities raided the house of Rehan, located in Asaura village in the Hapur district. Hapur : गैस गोदाम को सील किया गया,आपूर्ति विभाग ने की कार्रवाई, स्टॉक से कम LPG के सिलेंडर पाए गए | #BreakingNews #News18UP pic.twitter.com/BASkYt8o48— News18 Uttar Pradesh (@News18UP) March 13, 2026 Intensifying action against the black-marketing of LPG cylinders, the enforcement teams on Friday (March 13, 2026) conducted surprise inspections and raids at 1,483 locations in Uttar Pradesh. During the raids, the authorities lodged 4 FIRs against LPG distributors and 20 FIR against individuals found engaged in the black-marketing LPG cylinders. Besides, 6 persons were arrested by the police on the spot. To allay the fears regarding the shortage of LPG supply and to prevent panic buying, the state government assured that delivery of LPG refills will be ensured to consumers through 4,108 LPG gas distributors in the state. Around 100 LPG cylinders seized during raids at various locations in Punjab Teams of the District Food and Civil Supplies (DFCS) Department, District Food Supply Officers, Assistant Food Supply Officers and Food Supply Inspectors conducted raids at 42 locations in Punjab on Friday (March 13, 2026). The raids were conducted in towns including Patiala, Nabha, Rajpura, Samana, Devigarh and Patran. During the raids, the authorities seized over 100 illegally stored domestic cylinders being used in commercial establishments. Over 200 LPG cylinders confiscated in Araria, Bihar On Thursday evening (March 12, 2026), the district administration officials conducted a raid and found a large quantity of cooking gas cylinders stored illegally in Pokhar Basti (Ward No. 15) of Forbesganj city in the Araria district of Bihar. The Sub-Divisional Administration led by SDO Abhay Kumar raised the house and the shop belonging to one Sabir Ansari and his son Imran Ansari, where a total of 250 LPG cylinders, some filled and others empty, were seized. Around 150 of these cylinders were found inside the house and the remaining were found in the shop. Over 200 LPG cylinders seized by authorities in Mumbai and Nagpur In a major crackdown on the illegal stockpiling of cooking gas, the Food Distribution Department recently seized over 100 LPG cylinders from the ‘Suraj Vallabhdas Chawl’ area on Ganpatrao Kadam Road near Worli Naka in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Authorities seized 64 filled 4-kg and 19 filled 12-kg cylinders of Super Gas Company, and 58 empty 5-kg cylinders of HP Gas Company. Additionally, the officials confiscated 25 empty cylinders of different sizes, including 2kg, 4kg and 12 kg. The Food and Civil Supplies Department launched raids at establishments of 163 gas distributors the Nagpur division. The locations included Gadchiroli (70 distributors inspected), Bhandara (37 distributors), Gondia (17 distributors), Nagpur (19 by district supply officers and three by food distribution officers), Wardha (15 distributors), and Chandrapur (2 distributors). The authorities seized 110 LPG cylinders from the loctions costing around ₹1 lakh. 400 LPG cylinders confiscated near Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh In a raid conducted by the civil supplies officials in a godown on the outskirts of Tirupati, Adhra Pradesh on Friday (March 13, 2026), nearly 400 LPG cylinders stocked illegally were seized. A team led by Tirupati District Supplies Officer Seshachala Raju raided the premises located in Avilala Panchayat, which was once used as a stock point for a private gas supplier, but its license expired in 2019. Two arrested under the Goonda Act in Madurai for hoarding 398 LPG cylinders In the Madurai district of Tamil Nadu, the police on Friday (March 13, 2026) arrested two persons under the Goonda Act for hoarding 398 LPG cylinders for black marketing. The action followed after the police received a tip-off by the Civil Supplies Criminal Investigation Department (CS-CID) about the illegal diversion of subsidised domestic gas cylinders for commercial use. A special team of police raided an open plot in the Kovilpappakudi area, where it seized 100 subsidised domestic cylinders and 109 commercial cylinders. In a separate raid in Anandam Nagar, the officials confiscated 189 cylinders, including 126 commercial units. 381 domestic LPG cylinders seized in Hyderabad, Telangana The district authorities in Hyderabad, Telangana, confiscated 381 domestic LPG cylinders during raids on commercial establishments across Hyderabad and Secunderabad. The cylinders were stocked for illegal sale. According to a statement issued by Chief Rationing Officer Raji Reddy on Friday (March 13, 2026), the enforcement teams have been conducting raids since March 11, 2026 to prevent the diversion of domestic LPG cylinders for commercial use. In addition to that, authorities seized around 300 domestic LPG cylinders during raids at various hotels and restaurants in different districts of Telangana, including Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, and Karimnagar. The culprits have been booked under Section 6A of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Authorities confiscated around 100 domestic LPG cylinders in Madhya Pradesh In the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh, 38 domestic LPG cylinders were confiscated as confirmed by the authorities on Thursday (March 12, 2026). The illegally stockpiled cooking gas cylinders were seized during a raid conducted by the authorities as part of efforts to curb hoarding and black-marketing of LPG. In a separate action, authorities seized around 45 LPG cylinders from two vehicles in Lalghati and Kolar areas of the Bhopal district of Madhya Pradesh. The authorities found the cylinders in a truck belonging to Mamata Gas Agency and an SUV. Apart from this, the authorities also conducted a suprise inspection of gas agency’s godown near Jamboree Maidan in BHEL. During the inspection, the officials found that the number of cylinders in the godown did not match the stock records maintained by the gas agency. 741 LPG cylinders seized from 102 different locations in Chhattisgarh In a major action against the black-marketing of LPG, authorities in Chhattisgarh seized 741 cylinders from 102 different locations across the state. “So far, 741 cylinders have been seized from 102 places across the state. Raipur district recorded the highest number of seizures with 392 domestic LPG cylinders confiscated, followed by Bilaspur district, where 130 cylinders were seized,” stated an official release on Friday (March 13, 2026). The state Food Department in coordination in the local district administration has been conducting surprise inspections at suspected locations to curb hoarding of domestic LPG cylinders. 34 domestic LPG cylinders found illegally stockpiled in Visakhapatnam In a special drive conducted across Visakhapatnam Circle-II areas, including MVP Colony on Thursday (March 12, 2026), the District Civil Supply Department seized 34 domestic LPG cylinders from 14 different commercial establishments. Apart from the incidents of hoarding of LPG cylinders, some incidents of theft of cylinders have also come to light. In the Chala market area in Keralam’s Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, a man stole a 19-kg commercial cooking gas cylinder from a hotel in the wee hours of Friday (March 13, 2026). In a separate incident in Kalyan Nagar, Bengaluru, two persons, riding a two-wheeler, stole an LPG cylinder from a residential area.