KOLKATA: A petrol pump manager was allegedly pelted with eggs, slapped, and pushed by a group of men following a dispute over fuel payment at a Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited retail outlet located at Kadapara on Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Sarani close to Kankurgachi.According to the outlet management, the accused have been involved in repeated criminal acts, “being committed by “certain habitual local anti-social elements.” On numerous occasions, they have been routinely “unlawfully entering the petrol pump premises in a drunken and intoxicated condition. The accused have created terror amongst the employees, forcibly obtaining fuel without making payment and threatening the staff with consequences if payment is demanded.”The latest incident of extortion was reported on June 29, leading to the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) by the Phoolbagan police. According to the complaint filed by the management of the pump, local men entered the fuel station premises to refuel their vehicle. When the employees requested payment for the fuel supplied, the men refused to clear the bill.The situation escalated into a confrontation, during which the men threatened to assault the staff, vandalise the premises, and set the establishment on fire.The complaint stated that one of the accused, identified from CCTV footage as wearing a red cap, targeted the outlet manager cum coordinator, Aungan Kapuria. The victim was taking cash collections amounting to approximately Rs 2 lakh from the delivery staff. The accused (red cap headed showing in CCTV footage) suddenly hurled eggs directly at the victim. Immediately thereafter, the accused physically assaulted him by repeatedly slapping and pushing him while simultaneously threatening to kill him and all other employees if anyone attempted to resist or protect him. The accused repeatedly threatened that our co-ordinator of the petrol pump, beat the employees mercilessly and set the entire establishment on fire and also threatened to close the Petrol pump. The sudden and violent assault caused physical pain, humiliation and immense fear to Kapuria and created complete panic amongst the employees and customers present at the outlet,” the complaint stated.It was only due to the prompt intervention of the other staff members that the accused persons could not succeed in carrying away the cash or inflicting further serious injuries, claimed the employees.
