Petrol pump owners install cheat chips, trick motorists in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh
HYDERABAD/VIJAYAWADA: Over 30 members of an inter-state-gang, including some fuel station operators, have been arrested for cheating motorists by tweaking fuel-dispensing machines using integrated chips (ICs). The accused petrol bunk operators have been short supplying (2-3%) fuel to motorists.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Cyberabad police commissioner VC Sajjanar said simultaneous searches were conducted in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and they arrested 13 persons, including nine fuel station operators from the state. In AP, officials arrested 19 persons, while seven accused, including two key accused — Jo Joseph and Shibu Thomas—are at large.
Jo Joseph and Shibu Thomas, both residents of Mumbai, had created ICs to tinker with the software of fuel-dispensing machines. They supplied the ICs to Sheik Subhani of Eluru in Andhra Pradesh. Subhani in turn supplied the ICs to greedy petrol bunk owners in the two Telugu states. In Andhra, 22 fuel stations were sealed, while in Telangana 11 were shut down.
