Ranchi Petrol Pump Attacks: Dealers Fearful, Demand Increased Police Patrol

Ranchi: The recent attacks on several petrol pumps on the city outskirts have triggered fear and panic among dealers, with many reluctant to operate at night.In the past four days, four petrol pumps were targeted by unidentified miscreants, with three incidents reported alone on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.

The coordinated attacks carried out by a gang of miscreants armed with weapons left petrol pump employees injured, while cash amounting to lakhs was also looted.Fuel dealers have urged police to beef up patrolling during night hours, particularly on the city’s outskirts, to ensure they can run their business smoothly. The dealers appealed to police to expedite investigation in the recent cases and apprehend the miscreants.

A delegation of city petrol dealers met Ranchi SSP Rakesh Ranjan on Thursday to raise their concerns and urged police to strengthen security arrangements.“The recent incidents have sparked panic among the dealers and staff at petrol pumps as well. Staff are very afraid to work at night. During our meeting with the SSP, we appealed to set up police outposts on the Ring Road area. The area often remains deserted and that might have emboldened the miscreants to execute the recent attacks,” spokesperson of Jharkhand Petroleum Dealers Association, Pramod Kumar, told TOI.

Dealers have requested police to provide security arrangements while transporting cash from fuel stations to banks for deposit. The dealers also convened a meeting on Wednesday over the incidents.Kumar added that they received a positive response from police.President of South Chotanagpur Petroleum Dealers Association, Rajhans Mishra, said that, “we are waiting for the police response. If the situation does not improve, we might be compelled to shut the stations at night”.Some dealers have deployed their own security arrangements for the time being, attempting to prevent future attacks.Kumar said,” Our staff have become apprehensive of every customer visiting fuel stations after the attacks. We are thinking of employing our own security staff at petrol pumps, although that would hardly be of any use against armed miscreants.”