Robbers target petrol pumps

NEW DELHI, April 19: In separate incidents, armed men looted two petrol pumps of their daily earnings amounting to over Rs 6 lakh today. ...

NEW DELHI, April 19: In separate incidents, armed men looted two petrol pumps of their daily earnings amounting to over Rs 6 lakh today. While the first incident occurred at a petrol pump near Safdarjung Madarsa in the wee hours, the second took place in the afternoon on Mathura Road. Both incidents, according to the police, were the result of carelessness on the part of petrol pump owners, who apparently ignored all precautionary methods suggested to them.

In the first case, six armed men raided a petrol pump near the Safdarjung Madrasa and decamped with over Rs 3.12 lakh at around 3 a.m. The masked intruders reportedly drove into the Engineers Service Station in a white Maruti, roughed up three people on duty at the petrol pump and drove away with all the money in the vault.

Stating the sequence of events, owner of the pump D.C. Sharma says: 8220;The car drove in and the men told the security guard that they wanted petrol. The guard told them that the pump was closed. A couple of men jumped out of the car, took the guard behind the petrol pump and tied him up to the pillar of the electric lift used for cars.8221;

The men were armed with country-made pistols and long knives. According to the police, the dacoits did not use their weapons.

The salesman and helper were apparently sleeping in a room which was locked from the inside. 8220;The assailants knocked on the door and when one of the boys opened it, they barged in and pinned both of them to the floor. They asked for the money and my employees gave them a bag which had around Rs 3,500 in it.8221;

The assailants then asked for the key to the central vault. According to Sharma, both his employees put up resistance, following which they were taken behind the petrol pump and tied alongside the guard. 8220;My salesman was beaten up badly,8221; Sharma adds. 8220;After a while, he told them that the key to the vault was in a draw. One of the assailants went and checked whether the key was there. It wasn8217;t and the men then took the salesman to the room and made him open the safe.8221;

Once the safe was open, the salesman was tied up again. The men then loaded their car with the booty and drove off. It took the petrol pump employees a while to untie the ropes. They informed the police control room about the incident at 3.27 a.m.

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In another incident, three men robbed the manager and helper of a petrol pump off Rs 3.78 lakh at gun-point on Mathura Road this afternoon. S.P. Singh, manager of Usha Speedways petrol pump in Sarita Vihar, and his helper Manoj were reportedly going to deposit their earnings in the bank on a scooter. According to the police, when they reached Mathura Road around 12.30 p.m., a white car hit them from behind. As the car drove off, three people disembarked and tried to snatch the money bag. When Manoj tried to resist, the robbers threatened him at gun-point, snatched the bag and ran towards Sanjay Colony.

Police officials say that both these cases highlight the negligence of the owners. In both cases, the police had apparently told the owners repeatedly to undertake a few basic precautions. The police suggestions included installation of a siren, not leaving cash at the petrol pump at night and not keeping the keys to the safe at the pump. They have also asked petrol pump owners to transfer their money to the bank in a special bag with an alarm attached.

The owners of Usha Speedways petrol pump had bought the safety bag, but were not using it. Police officials say that the owners are lax because their money is insured.