Four persons were arrested for allegedly illegally selling commercial gas cylinders at inflated prices in Secunderabad on Tuesday, after the Commissioner’s Task Force, Secunderabad Zone, along with Gandhi Nagar police seized 129 cylinders and transport vehicles worth ₹7.5 lakh from their possession.

The accused were identified as Yalam Parthip Kumar, 21, a gas delivery boy from Karmanghat - originally from Nalgonda district, Jallela Mallesh, 25, a gas delivery boy from Vijaya Laxmi Colony, Meerpet, originally from Nalgonda district, Mora Nagarjuna alias Arjun, 32, a driver living near the Passport Office in Secunderabad, and Nagulapally Mallesh, 56, who runs a tiffin centre in New Bhoiguda.

Police said the accused were apprehended at IDH Colony in New Bhoiguda following credible information about the illegal sale of commercial gas cylinders to customers at higher-than-market rates.

According to the police, Parthip Kumar and Jallela Mallesh, who were employed as delivery boys at Bhargavi Agency, allegedly conspired with their acquaintance Mora Nagarjuna to divert commercial cylinders for black marketing to make unlawful financial gains without the knowledge of the agency owner.

As part of the alleged operation, the two delivery boys would hand over full commercial cylinders to Nagarjuna at prices ranging between ₹3,500 and ₹3,800 per cylinder, despite the original price being ₹3,337. Nagarjuna would then allegedly sell them to local restaurant and tiffin centre owners across Hyderabad for ₹5,000 per cylinder.

The fourth accused, Nagulapally Mallesh, was allegedly found to be among the customers purchasing the cylinders.

The seized property included 129 commercial gas cylinders, of which 25 were full and 104 empty, an Ashok Leyland goods vehicle bearing registration number TG 07 U 2257, a black Activa scooter bearing registration number AP 28 DP 1902, cash of ₹26,700 and four mobile phones.