A train derailment in Madhya Pradesh's Ratlam led to a free-for-all after people rushed to the spot to collect the diesel leaking from the train.
Three wagons of a goods train which was carrying petroleum products had derailed on Thursday night after which videos showed a large group of people collecting the diesel that dripped onto a nearby drain.
Plastic cans in hand, the locals were seen collecting the water-mixed diesel to take home.
In a now viral video, multiple people including women were seen sitting down next to the drain and filling the water-mixed diesel into buckets, bottles and cans.
Some shots also showed railways and police officials standing nearby as the fuel is taken away.
The video which has now gone viral on social media has over 2.7 lakh views with most users seeing nothing wrong with what the locals did.
Replying to the video's caption which read that a "crowd looted diesel from 3 wagons of a gods train", many pointed out that it cannot be considered a loot since they were only collecting the fuel that was spilled.
‘They can’t use it'
"It's not a loot..loot will be when people would take it from tanker itself. They r collecting it from drains. I don't think it's wrong. Plus they can't use directly in their vehicles bcz of mix of water, i think," wrote one user.
"To people who would speak by logic Diesel is very hard to ignite.Hence it's only suitable to use in compression engines.To justify it as loot one has to see atleast some kind of tussle.In my opinion these guys are just collecting what is being spilt uncontrollably," wrote another user.
One comment said that the act was essentially helping to stop the degradation of the nearby environment.
"doesnt look like looting. They are preserving the nature," it read.
