Petroleum dealers condemn police ‘harassment’ over digital transactions

The Tamil Nadu Petroleum Dealers Association (TNPDA) has strongly condemned the ‘harassment’ of several petroleum dealers by detaining them in connection with some fraudulent digital transactions. This was part of a crackdown on the cybercrime network in the State conducted by the Tamil Nadu Police on August 6.

TNPDA president K. P. Murali said that petroleum dealers selling fuel belonging to the public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) conduct their business through hundreds of digital transactions every day via UPI platforms and credit/debit cards. “We have no way to verify the identity or background of the source of income of any individual. We merely provide the payment infrastructure and have no control over the subsequent movement of funds through the banking network.”

“Such actions cause immense mental agony, embarrassment, and reputational damage to law-abiding business owners. While the Association fully supports legitimate cybercrime investigations and is ready to co-operate to law enforcement, treating honest dealers as accused persons due to unknown disputed transactions is unacceptable,” he added.

He said that if dealers continue to face harassment, arbitrary account freezes, and police detentions for merely providing digital payment facilities, the Association members (OMC’S dealers) will be forced to consider suspension of all digital payment modes and card transactions at fuel outlets across Tamil Nadu.

Dealers are also pretty cut up with the bank accounts of dealerships being frozen indiscriminately just because they had unknowingly received money from unscrupulous persons as part of the retail petroleum outlets’ routine financial transaction.

K. Suresh Kumar, Consortium of Indian Petroleum Dealers, said that there have been quite a few instances of bank accounts of dealers being frozen. “People have had to run from pillar to post trying to get the accounts up and going. Without the accounts, they would not be able to pay for fuel or make digital transactions.” The police should instruct banks to hold only that portion of disputed money, he said.