Enforcement officials said the malpractices were chiefly of two kinds. Miscreants could place a full cylinder alongside an empty one, break the seal of the first and connect the two with a pipe with nozzles at both ends. Since gas flows from a high pressure zone to a low pressure zone, pilferers could safely remove a couple of kgs of gas from several full cylinders and fill up an empty one, earning between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 per day.

Besides, said Enforcement officials, discrepancies were often detected between stock records and the actual number of cylinders in godowns, which implied that cylinders were being sold off without the necessary paperwork.

Mostly, said sources,domestic-use cylinders were sold off to commercial establishments. At times, cylinders were often found to have been supplied to villages that had no specified LPG users, they said.

Asked about the steps that would follow such discoveries, DSO officials said notices would be issued and the party heard. Subsequently, cylinders could be confiscated and fines credited to the Government account.

While all that senior IOC officers would say to The Indian Express was that such malpractices occurred in the retailers' godowns, District Collector Pravin Trivedi was learnt to have asked them to investigate them.

A district-level committee has also been formed - with the DSO as its secretary - to coordinate with the IOC and the Department of Weights and Measures to devise a long-term strategy to check the malpractices.

Seal check

Officials say consumers rarely complain about discrepancies in their LPG cylinders. "Every delivery man is supposed to carry a spring balance while deliveringcylinders. Consumers must insist the cylinder is weighed before them and ensure it weighs 14.2 kg, give or take 200 gms, and that it is sealed," said DSO Dinesh Modi and Bharat Petroleum deputy manager T D Savrekar.