Uttar Pradesh: Ex-Air India Chief claims pilferage by LPG company

Sep 8 (AZINS) After scandal of under-weighing of petrol and diesel in Uttar Pradesh last year, a big racket appears to be going on in state capital Lucknow on supply of under-weight LPG cylinders.

The expose was unearthed by a retired UP cadre bureaucrat and former Air India Chief Rohit Nandan, who is now Chairman of the UP State Public Service Tribunal.

After getting under-weight LPG cylinders twice at his Gautampalli residence, Nandan posted his grievance on his Facebook wall to alert other consumers.

“After the scandal of under-weighing of petrol in Lucknow, there appears to be a racket going on in the supply of underweight LPG cylinders too. On August 31, I was supplied a cylinder which was found to be to be 4 kgs underweight. The delivery boy just said that he was not carrying weighing equipment. He promised to return but failed to do so. The cylinder was found 4 kgs less when weighed on my machine,” he posted on Saturday.

 “Today again, a new cylinder was delivered and on weighing it on my machine it was found to be 3 kgs less in weight. Whilst I had ignored the earlier incident as a one-off case, its repetition today raises suspicion that it is deliberate mischief,” he wrote further.

“I am sharing this so that others in Lucknow are alerted. I intend to bring it to the notice of authorities concerned on Monday,” said the senior retired bureaucrat.

The Chairman UP State Public Service Tribunal said that he will certainly lodge his complaint with the highest authorities in the petroleum ministry and a case against the gas agency owner for cheating the public.

Ironically, this possible scandal was unearthed at a time when people are already reeling under pressure due to steep hike in diesel and petrol. “If a senior retired bureaucrat can be cheated like this by public sector private companies then one can understand the plight of a common man,” reacted one former colleague.

Last year, over a dozen petrol pumps were seized by the STF when they were found to be using an electronic device to measure less petroleum products. “It’s a double whammy for the commoner. They are forced to pay exorbitant prices for petroleum products for less measure and weight for companies and their associations to loot our hard-earned money,” reacted another colleague demanding arrest and cancellation of license of agencies involved in the racket.