Petrol pilferage thrives in city

BANGALORE: The petrol truck with a hidden tank that was seized recently on Kasturba Road is just the tip of the iceberg. A mafia is at work stealing large bulks of petrol on its way to bunks. More than 500 tankers come into the city everyday to supply petrol to the 225 bunks. A tanker's capacity is 12,000 litres which is loaded in its three chambers."Petrol is pilfered from every tanker. While some truckers deliver 10-20 litres less, others pilfer as much as 200-400 litres from each tanker," says president of the Bangalore Petroleum Dealers' Association Bhushan Narang. This shocking disclosure is not without evidence. The association has written several letters about this problem to oil companies, who are also aware of it. Transporters often provide tankers to oil companies at prices which are not economical for the companies. This has lead to unscrupulous elements entering the business. There is a lot of money involved in petrol pilferage. A truck carries 12,000 litres per load which is worth about Rs 5.4 lakh. A truck sometimes carries two consignments and so, if the pilferage is about 5 per cent, the transporter easily makes about Rs 50,000. Dealers complain that transporters use fraudulent methods to steal petrol. Bhushan Narang demonstrates the clever means adopted by truckers. "The truck that was seized by the police recently belonged to M.R.K. Transporters, which used a false tank in one of the chambers to steal 200 litres. In another chamber the dipstick perforations were welded and blocked. Some truckers inflate tyre pressure from 90 pounds to 130 pounds on their front tyres to give a false indication. Another dealer from Mandya said that truckers use rubber pieces inside the dipstick pipe to cheat. They say they are constantly outwitted by truckers who manage to steal no matter what. Controller of Legal Metrology department Balakrishna Gowda merely said, "We will take action." Dealers however complain about the connivance of officers of the Legal Metrology Department and oil companies, who they say are hand in glove with errant truckers. While these officers have ample powers to curb the menace, they deliberately choose to look the other way. Despite the recent seizure, the errant trucker continues to ply, they point out. However Hindustan Petroleum officials confirmed that the services of the trucker has been cancelled following the detection. Cubbon Park sub-inspector Anand said the truck operator Sudharshan who has more than 60 trucks, was booked under sections 406 and 420 of IPC for cheating. However Sudharshan is yet to be arrested. Cubbon Park police ACP N.D. Mulla said, "We will arrest him".