Fill-up fraud: More being cheated at petrol stations across Karnataka

Cases of cheating at petrol pumps have increased across the state since the last two years, and Bengaluru is no exception.

Customers are often scammed by fuel station attendants who dispense lower quantities of fuel by distracting them. Rigged meters is another mode of fraud.

A senior official of the legal metrology department told DH that they had conducted very few inspections during the pandemic years but have resumed checking. “We usually check five litres of petrol. A permissible error of 25 ml is allowed, but if a pump falls short further, we book a case,” the official said.

One way that pump staff cheat is by stopping the fuel flow mid-way. “If a customer asks for petrol for Rs 1,000, the attendant pours petrol for Rs 400 and stops, citing a problem or power cut. He then begins from where he stopped instead of starting from zero, and stops at Rs 600. The customer assumes he has received petrol for Rs 1,000 when he has received it for just Rs 600. The pump staff would have pocketed Rs 400.”

Petrol traders, however, said they are penalised for negligible variations.

K M Basave Gowda, president of Akhila Karnataka Federation of Petroleum Traders, said electronic meters have brought down the chances of cheating. “We are allowed an error limit of 25 ml plus or minus. But even if we are short by 10 ml, officials book a case,” he complained.

Traders had even protested last year. “Officials talk about zero tolerance but there is no such concept anywhere in the world,” Gowda said.

Penalty

The punishment for short weighing is a spot fine of Rs 1,000. In case the fuel dispensing machine is rigged, a case is filed in the jurisdictional court.

“A criminal charge is registered for repeat offenders,” said an official. Courts can levy penalties ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 1 lakh depending on the degree of fraud, he said.

To report fraud, customers can call the legal metrology officer in-charge whose name and number have to be displayed at petrol pumps.