The outlet near 8B bus stop

Outlets selling katatel, a toxic mixture of petrol, kerosene and naphtha used to run autorickshaws, continue to thrive in the city with the police looking the other way. Metro spotted three outlets of the killer fuel in south Calcutta.

Where: Near Jadavpur 8B bus stop

What we saw: The outlet is located beside a flower shop along the boundary wall of Jadavpur University, barely a few metres from Jadavpur police station. The stall is visible from every bus passing the stretch.

The outlet consists of a cupboard, kept on an elevated portion of the footpath, meant for planting small trees. A large drum and plastic bottles filled with the toxic fuel are inside the cupboard.

Metro posed as a customer and struck up a conversation with the lanky youth selling the oil.

“Katatel is cheaper than petrol by about Rs 4 a litre. If you buy a large quantity, you will get a discount,” he said.

The outlet remains open from 8 to 11 in the morning and 5 to 10 in the evening.

An autorickshaw driver on the Garia-Gariahat route said: “The oil comes from Budge Budge. Sellers at roadside outlets keep a profit of Rs 3 per litre. If you buy a large quantity of katatel, they keep a rupee’s profit on every litre.”

Citizenspeak: “It’s really strange how they can carry on this illegal trade on the main road, just a few metres from a police station. Every day I see katatel being sold from the outlet while returning home after classes but the police cannot see it,” said Pooja Chatterjee, a student of Jadavpur University.

The mobile outlet in Gangulybagan

Where: Gangulybagan

What we saw: A three-wheeler for carrying goods (WB19/A 5136) is a mobile outlet of katatel at Gangulybagan. Every morning, from 7 to 9.30, the auto remains stationed in a lane off Raja Subodh Chandra Mullick Road.

Five large drums filled with the killer oil are kept in the enclosure at the back of the auto. The vehicle does not have a number plate in front. The number plate at the back is barely legible.

Autorickshaws queue up behind the mobile outlet. Two people, one in shorts and T-shirt and a man in his early 20s sell the fuel.

Citizenspeak: “The auto is stationed at the same spot every day between 7am and 9.30am. The toxic fuel costs Rs 40 for a litre,” said a resident of the area.

“It is difficult to believe that the police do not know about the auto since it sells katatel every morning in such a busy area,” added the resident.

The shack near Annapurna bus stop that sells the killer fuel. Pictures by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Where: Near Annapurna bus stop, opposite Tulip Hall School

What we saw: A shack opposite the nursery school sells the fuel. Autorickshaws park near the outlet. The drivers go inside and come out with bottles of katatel.

Citizenspeak: “Till recently, the shop-owner used to sell the oil openly on the road. But now they keep the oil inside the store,” said Subhojit Sarkar, a resident of Garia.

“I return from office between 5.30pm and 7.30pm and invariably see auto drivers buying the oil. Earlier, they used to fill their fuel tanks on the spot. Now they buy katatel in plastic bottles and fill their tanks elsewhere,” added Sarkar.

Policespeak: “We conducted a raid on a katatel outlet in Mahestala and seized around 12,000 litres of the fuel. Our main targets are the godowns that stock large quantities of katatel. After police raids, a retail outlet starts operating from another spot nearby. If we shut down the godowns, the smaller outlets will automatically close,” said a senior officer of South 24-Parganas police.

Commenting on the three outlets at Gangulybagan, Annapurna bus stop and Jadavpur, he added: “These three outlets are within a kilometre of each other. When there are several outlets in a small area, none of them store more than 400 litres of the fuel.”

He said he would ask the local police station to take immediate action against the owners of the outlets.

“Only regular raids can shut down katatel outlets,” said the officer.

Subhajoy Roy