‘Oil cos facilitate short dispensing’

While the crackdown on petrol pumps has exposed the role of owners and staff members in duping customers by rigging dispensing machines, what the UP STF drive has still not unearthed is the part played by oil companies, if any, in the scam.

Sanjay Dembla, owner of one of the oldest petrol pumps in the state capital, says the larger story is yet to be told.

“Oil companies have a major role in facilitating short dispensing. Without their connivance, no device or chip can be installed in fuel dispensers,” said Dembla, who has been in this trade for five decades.

He asserted that he was the first to highlight the fuel dispenser tampering in Lucknow, and had even approached the petroleum ministry in the matter.

“I first wrote to the petroleum ministry in 2014, informing them about the malpractice and the involvement of oil companies. But, to my surprise, the ministry took no concrete steps to check this illegal act,” he said, showing the correspondence he had exchanged with the ministry.

Alleging involvement of the oil companies, he added, “The sales officer of the oil company the staffer down the line who inspects petrol pumps at periodic intervals - plays a crucial role in fuel dispenser tampering.”

HOW THE FUEL RACKET WORKS

Dembla shed light on how an entire chain of people is involved in the scam.

“The owner of the petrol pump lodges a false complaint with the oil company, reporting a snag in the fuel dispenser, which is actually working perfectly fine. The company’s sales officer then informs the weights and measurement department to open the seal of the dispensing unit for repair work. Once, the seal is opened, the sales officer, the staffers with the weights and measurement department and a mechanic help fit in the cheating chip, and the petrol dispenser is sealed again,” he said.

Dembla has a long-running dispute with his brother over the ownership of the petrol pump ‘Vijay Automobiles’.

“I have reported the matter to the ministry at least four times but no action has been initiated in the case,” he said.