The Food and Civil Supplies Department has written to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas seeking verification of several suspected “ghost consumers” after nearly 200 domestic LPG cylinders were seized from commercial establishments during raids in Patiala district.Officials said preliminary investigations indicated that many LPG connections were issued in the names of non-existent consumers. Some of the beneficiaries were reportedly deceased, had left the city, or had obtained connections using fake Aadhaar cards.Authorities have not ruled out the possible involvement of gas agency vendors or operators in the suspected racket.A food inspector involved in the raids said several commercial establishments caught using domestic cylinders claimed they had purchased these from cylinder vendors. The department is also probing how such establishments were getting the cylinders refilled. The crackdown follows rising complaints of hoarding and illegal sale of domestic LPG cylinders. Raids were conducted across Patiala, Nabha, Rajpura, Samana, Devigarh and Patran.Residents alleged that domestic LPG cylinders were being sold on the black market for Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500, while commercial cylinders were fetching between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000. The shortage has affected households and small businesses alike. Several women running cloud kitchens have reportedly shifted to induction cookers and hot plates amid fears of prolonged supply disruption.District Food and Civil Supplies Controller Dr Ravinder Kaur said the stocks at gas agencies were checked after the detection of ghost connections and that LPG supply in the district was currently adequate.10 domestic cylinders seizedFazilka: Officials confiscated 10 domestic LPG cylinders allegedly being used for commercial purposes during raids here. The cylinders were seized from restaurants, dhabas, car repair shop and a sweets shop. — OC