Acting on a tip off, the special task force of UP Police has busted a state-wide racket of Petrol pump owners that were using a Rs 3,000 electronic chip to mint profits worth lakhs by reducing petrol output by nearly 6%.

A total of 8 Petrol Pumps in Lucknow were raided, and in each petrol pump the chip was found. According to the developer of the chip, he has sold this chip to more than 1,000 petrol pump owners across UP.

ASP (STF) Arvind Chaturvedi said that acting on an informer’s tip off, they came to know about an electrician Ravinder who had reportedly developed an electronic chip which was controlled by remote to limit the petrol dispensed by the pump while still showing full output.

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“The chip is attached with a wire which is linked with a remote control,” Times of India quoted Chaturvedi as saying.

Ravinder confessed to the STF of selling the chip to more than 1,000 petrol pump owners across UP and upon his identification, 8 petrol pumps in Lucknow were raided and each place was found to be using the chip. Later, Ravindra said that he had learned to make the chip from an engineer named Rahul.

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“The remote control is used to set the limit. If a customer takes 1 litre petrol from any station, in reality he receives only 940 ml if the dispensing machine is fitted with this chip. So, 60 ml goes into the account of the pump owner,” explained an STF member, adding that the petrol pumps using the device were earning an additional profit of nearly 14 lakh per month.

Following the recovery of chips in Lucknow, SSP (STF) Amit Pathak said that several teams have been formed to conduct raid in other parts of the state. FIRs have been filed for robbery and loot against owners of the petrol pumps using the device.