Petroleum companies have cancelled the licences of eight petrol pumps in Maharashtra after they were found guilty of tampering with fuel dispensing machines. As many as 33 persons have also been arrested in connection with the “fraud”. The eight petrol pumps are located in Mumbai, Nagpur, Satara and Nashik. At least three petrol pump owners in Pune have been issued show-cause notices, said sources in petroleum companies. One of the pumps is in Pimpri-Chinchwad, while two others are in Pune city.
One of the pump owners is absconding after an arrest warrant was issued against him, said sources, adding, “These three pumps have been issued show-cause notices and are set to lose their licences”. The information regarding cancellation of licences was placed before the Assembly by Food and Civil Supplies Minister Girish Bapat on Saturday.
The minister said since September 1, 186 petrol pumps have been inspected, of which 98 were found to have tampered with fuel dispensing units. “Of the 98 pumps, 59 were found guilty of fraud during lab testing… eight have lost their licence, further action will soon be initiated,” said Bapat. He added that the inspection was undertaken following the petrol pump fraud case in Uttar Pradesh, which was traced back to Maharashtra.
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The issue of customers being “cheated” at petrol pumps surfaced in May, when the Special Task Force of the Uttar Pradesh Police made two arrests from Maharashtra, including one from Pune, in connection with a multi-crore scam. Several petrol pumps in the state were found to be using remote control-linked electronic chips in their fuel dispensing machines, and cheating customers by giving them less fuel than what they had been charged for.
“From September 1, the state government has undertaken a drive to stop pilferage of petrol and diesel and to ensure that the system become transparent and efficient. Petrol pumps are being inspected to check… their hardware/software and conduct their audit,” Bapat said, adding that the Maharashtra government was the first to conduct such a drive.
Amitabh Gupta, controller, Legal Metrology Department, said, “The eight petrol pumps which have lost their licence for tampering with fuel machines will have new dealers… the petrol pumps will continue to operate, the oil companies are expected to appoint new dealers”. Welcoming the action, Ali Daruwalla, spokesperson for the All India Petrol Dealers Association, said, “All the wrong-doers should be punished. We are strongly in favour of a transparent, honest and efficient system.”
