[darklord]

The UP Special Task Force made 23 arrests, including an electrician who claimed to have installed the chip-based device in over 1000 fuel stations across the state, and in other states too. The probe is expected to expand across UP.

Uttar Pradesh authorities on Friday discovered that several petrol pump owners in Lucknow have been siphoning off over Rs 200 crore per month from customers by means of a chip-based device that dispenses less fuel when activated.

An initial probe by the UP Special Task Force (STF), which raided seven petrol pumps on Thursday, stated that around 80% pumps across the state were dispensing less fuel than what was being charged to the customer.

The chip when installed in the dispensing machines reduces the output by nearly 5-10%. It is attached by a wire which is linked to a remote control that sets the limit, the STF said. This means a customer will get only 940 ml petrol for the price of one litre.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/luckno...rTqNWDIUI.html

[tsk1979]

So if you go with a measuring can, they deactivate it and it appears that you are getting full fuel. You test it and its pure, and you tag the pump as "Great!".

What these guys have done is despicable,but this is bond villain level tech cheating.

[BoneCollector]

O my God, this indeed is serious. It must be thoroughly investigated. After reading this, 3 things come to my mind

1. Wouldn't this news alert the pump owners all across India to either remove the said chip or take other evasive actions?

2. Could this be the reason when people have reported higher fuel intake in a car more than the company provided tank? I remember reading someone's post quite some time back that his XUV5OO was taking in different amount of fuel from different petrol bunks.

3. Given the political nexus most petrol pumps have, will the investigation go on properly?

[DwarkaDelhiWala]

Not surprising at all when i remember who and how those people got the pumps in first place.
Not for nothing petroleum ministry corridors are called 'power corridors'. These pump owner are 'claiming back' what they paid for the pumps, albeit in multiple proportions.
Even if they take down all the chips from those cheating pumps, they will sure find some new way to dupe us. One way can be to immediately take away ownership of these pumps and give them to a cooperative of unemployed youth.

[libranof1987]

Looks like someone didn't get their month's due and promptly tipped authorities off.

I'd not be surprised if the case (through similar or different means) is prevalent across the country.

Hope providers such as Shell are better.

Only if cars had digital meters that display the total amount of fuel in the tank; that way, you could easily tally the pre/post fueling figure with how much the dispenser shows.

[redcruiser]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Only if cars had digital meters that display the total amount of fuel in the tank; that way, you could easily tally the pre/post fueling figure with how much the dispenser shows.

This is a very good Idea. Don't we have any such car in the market? How come Mercedes or BMW haven't thought of this?

[deathwalkr]

Cops on a hunt and they have caught the dude who has been selling these chips [for 3k a piece] and a lot of petrol bunk owners have been caught as well. But it's a needle in a haystack :(

[sgiitk]

Let us hope it is the beginning of something good. Yogi is after all and sundry and in a big way. The joke going round is that he is CM for five years and not five months. I hope this puts the fear of God /Yogi into the system and we can take it as a 5-10% price cut thanks to Yogi. One more reason why RIL pumps were preferred.

[Gansan]

Some decades ago, when I was a college student, an employee of a PSU oil company lived in our vicinity. He was an inspector, his job was to randomly visit petrol bunks and check the calibration of meters. He used to say that almost all of them tamper with the reading, and his job was to ensure it did not exceed 50 ml per litre or thereabouts! Which was acceptable!

Things have not changed after all these years.

[Kestrel5915]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Let us hope it is the beginning of something good. Yogi is after all and sundry and in a big way. The joke going round is that he is CM for five years and not five months. I hope this puts the fear of God /Yogi into the system and we can take it as a 5-10% price cut thanks to Yogi. One more reason why RIL pumps were preferred.

Sir, could you be more specific about the RIL pumps?
They were stopped some years back but now seem to be coming back again.

[carwatcher]

On one hand we have this scam and on the other we have this thread getting humongous 'Thanks'.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post2792827

I am not saying that one should do cheating but there surely is something which proves why the problem is unsolved after tens of years.

Is it the so called 'system' or something else?

[hrman]

This is exactly the reason why we should stick to reputed private fuel stations (Shell, Reliance etc) or refer to TBHP for the list of trusted petrol pumps, when on travel.

Other than arresting the thieves invloved, shouldnt the government force them to cough up the money they have illegally swindled from customers all these years? Some etimates peg it as Rs.350 crores. The govt can use this money in their highway funds or waive off tolls on certain roads for a period.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by Kestrel5915

Sir, could you be more specific about the RIL pumps?
They were stopped some years back but now seem to be coming back again.

Yes, RIL closed their pumps since while the PSUs were getting subsidies the privateers were not. Hence the pumps were not financially viable. With subsidies gone, there is no reason why RIL should not be back. What I also missed were clean toilets and reasonable eateries attached to them.

[Dry Ice]

For folks travelling through UP, I would say getting lesser fuel is still OK, rather than suffering consequences of adulterated fuel. At least lesser fuel won't harm the engine, you maybe cheated of money, but that's it.

It is heartening to know that such things are coming to light now atleast. Time will tell if things improve for the longer term and this is not just a flash in the pan.

[darklord]

Fuel fraud: Pumps in Lucknow reopen after officials threaten takeover

Dealers in Lucknow reopened fuel stations on Tuesday afternoon after the district administration threatened to take control of the facilities that were shut since midnight.

The Lucknow Petroleum Products Dealers Association, which met local officials on Tuesday, had also sought a sort of “amnesty” period for cheating operators to come clean, “having realised their mistake”.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/luckno...yZWUHOcxH.html

If it talks like a mafia organization and acts like a mafia organization, it is a mafia organization .

Also read:
http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/secon...ucknow-1688186