Gzb pump employee shot at, critical for refusing to give gas
A petrol pump attendant on Monday paid a heavy price for enforcing the District Administration’s ‘no helmet, no fuel’ order. The pump attendant was shot at by three bikers after he refused to provide fuel to them for not wearing helmets.
The incident took place at a petrol pump situated in Banthala under the jurisdiction of loni Police Station. The three men entered into a heated argument with the attendant, lal Singh and forced him to give them fuel before one of them shot him at point blank range.
While the three assailants escaped, the badly injured lal Singh was rushed to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. Doctors said his condition was critical.
“A criminal case under Section 307 of IPC has been registered against three unidentified assailants. Police teams are carrying out raids to nab them,” said Inspector Gorakh Nath Yadav of loni Police Station.
Ghaziabad Petrol Pump Owners’ Association has been demanding security from the district police for enforcing the ‘no helmet, no fuel’ order but the same has been denied to them.
“Monday’s incident is testimony of how the district administration has pitted hapless petrol pump attendants against lawbreakers and left us to fend for ourselves,” said a petrol pump employee pleading anonymity.
Ghaziabad Petrol Pump Dealers’ Association president Prem Mohan Singhal said: “The district administration’s order is causing a lot of problems. We told the district administration that petrol pumps are not a law enforcing agency and requested the District Magistrate and the Senior Superintendent of Police to deploy at least one policeman so that the order could be implemented. But they have not provided any.”
In order to avoid the wrath of the District Magistrate, the petrol pump owners have devised a method. They offer helmets to the bikers to wear at the time of filling fuel so they can be photographed. The bikers are then asked to hand over the helmets and move on, said another employee of a petrol pump in city.
“Our salesmen are at the receiving end as they often are beaten, mistreated and the attack on the life of the attendant at the Banthala petrol pump is testimony to the problem. The district administration should take a responsibility of his treatment,” said Singhal.
“In fact no petrol pump operator can enforce the order to the letter,” he added.
Defending the order, DM of Ghaziabad VK Sharma said, “It is the order of the State Transport Commissioner and it has to be executed through the district supply officer to the pump owners. The order is to be implemented strictly. We are ready to provide police security if a demand is made in case of emergency.”
However, petrol pump owners said “This does not solve our woes as the police will intervene only in an emergency.”