Demand comes in light of two recent assaults on pump employees carrying lakhs of cash
After two petrol pump employees were assaulted and looted of lakhs worth of pump’s collections, the Pune Petrol Dealers Association has demanded that the police should grant arms licences to pump owners or managers, for safety.
The managing committee of the association met on Tuesday morning to discuss the matter, a day after a gang of raiders assaulted two petrol pump employees and robbed them of Rs 18.75 lakh of the pump’s money, while they were on their way to the bank to deposit the cash.
The association has submitted a letter containing their demands to Police Commissioner Satish Mathur. President of the association, Baba Dhumal, said, “Running a petrol pump has become a life-threatening issue. All three oil companies are facing the increasing threat of robbery and assault. Our managing committee has, therefore, resolved to seek arms permission for petrol pump owners or managers for the purpose of safety and security while carrying cash from petrol pumps to banks.”
There are 110 petrol pumps in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad city limits, and a total of 350 in the entire Pune district, and they do brisk business of Rs 5-20 lakh on any given day. These pumps become an easy target for burglars and marauders.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Administration) Abdur Rehman said, “If petrol pump owners apply for arms licences, we will assess the level of threat to the applicants. We can’t issue licences to all across the board, but will consider the applications on a case-to-case basis.”
“Pumps can opt for security services provided by the Maharashtra Security Corporation,” Rehman added.
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