By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Nov 29: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday stated that there is a false impression that police are intimidating oil transporters, when in fact, they are only taking action in response to reports of fuel theft and evidence of poor management.
Sangma stated that it is important to have a background understanding of the situation. “I have received complaints from the owners of the fuel stations that there was siphoning or leakage of the fuel in the sense that certain transporters were taking out the fuel and not giving the entire supply,” he said.
“We conducted an investigation in response to these complaints, and during that investigation, we discovered certain facts and pieces of evidence regarding this specific alleged mismanagement,” he said and continued: “Therefore, the police were not assisting anyone. It’s an entirely false impression. The only job the police were performing was making sure that the goods — that is, the petrol and diesel products — that were supposed to arrive at the petrol pump in full should do so.”
The CM explained that there was a reaction because some of the suppliers were not pleased with the police action. “There was a meeting today and some agreement has been reached. However, the police and administration will contimue to act to prevent such activities from occurring in the event that they occur.”
Making it clear that everything the police and the administration were doing was in the interest of the public, he said, “Suppliers are free to come in to discuss the matter and get those examined if any such issue arises.”
