Two individuals have been arrested in Surat for operating an illegal fuel outlet and selling low-quality diesel at reduced prices. Police seized a significant quantity of substandard diesel and vehicles, and are pursuing additional suspects involved in the operation.
Tamil Nadu Petroleum Dealers' Association urged people not to panic-buy petrol or diesel, stating that 14 terminals in Tamil Nadu have enough stock to replenish 7,000-plus retail outlets as per their demand.
'There exists a 'brotherhood' of sorts for a very long time and corrupt dealers and corrupt OMC officials are in it together,' Ashwani Attrish, founder, Empowering Petroleum Dealers Foundation, tells Sudhir Bisht, a veteran of the petroleum industry.
The humble Rs 100 bill had several takers on an otherwise normal weekday evening across the country on Tuesday night, even as police had to be deployed outside ATMs to control the crowd waiting eagerly to get their hands on the banknote.
The government shouldn't hide behind the veil of making a domestic giant out of the HPC-ONGC deal, rather it should just say it needs cash from this divestment exercise, says Sudhir Bisht.
'Oil companies like IOC, BPCL and HPCL have to set up world class systems where they are always two steps ahead of the crooks,' says Sudhir Bisht, a veteran of the petroleum industry.