Manipur Police assures security for petrol pumps amid extortion threats

Imphal, Dec 22 (PTI) Manipur Police on Monday assured security arrangements for fuel retail outlets across the state amid rising extortion threats faced by petrol pump dealers.

In a statement, police said the prevailing situation was discussed at a meeting, chaired by Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order), along with SPs and representatives of the petroleum dealers association.

"The police department has assured that security arrangement for retail outlets (RO) shall be reviewed and additional security measures, including vetting of all employees of ROs shall be done," the statement added.

It also said, "Mobile police teams shall be deployed at strategic locations to ensure the safety of ROs and anti-extortion mechanism shall be enhanced to thwart the threats to the retail outlets." Police informed it has arrested two persons for extorting from petrol pumps.

This comes after petrol pump dealers warned that they would have to suspend operations if the government failed to take action against extortion demands by the end of this week.

In a statement, the Manipur Petroleum Dealers Fraternity (MPDF) said they had submitted a memorandum to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on December 10 highlighting security concerns, but no concrete action followed.

"At present, petrol pump dealers find themselves in an extremely critical situation where the sustainability and functioning of their businesses have become nearly impossible due to extortion and bomb threats," the MPDF said.

It also informed that pump dealers are left with no alternative but to shut down operations if the authorities fail to take action by December 28. PTI COR MNB