We have all heard that fuel is precious, and this recently filed Mumbai crime proves that it is not just precious; criminals can turn it into a treasure trove. But of course, crime never pays, and scams come to light sometimes or another—like this one, which came to light after the fleet manager was transferred to another department, and the new fleet manager immediately caught on about the scam.
The modus operandi had multiple aspects but was pretty simple. The fleet manager was responsible for creating the routes for the logistics company and determining the amount of fuel required for each trip.
The company had an agreement with a specific brand of petrol pump, and the petrol pump would only fill fuel via an online transaction. The fleet manager took advantage of this. He would first take cash from an
A general reader would think this scam couldn’t last long, and the amount siphoned would run into a few lakhs. Surprisingly, the accused has confessed to siphoning close to ₹40 Lakh. The police are now investigating various aspects of the crime, including the location of the money and whether someone else is involved. Apparently, the crime went on for most of 2024 and ended only in early 2025.
The accused, who has confessed to the crime, would first send and withdraw the inflated value of the fuel in cash from the company-owned petrol pump. Then, the driver would fill the amount of fuel needed for the said journey.
Essentially, there would be two entries for the same journey and vehicle number: the first would be withdrawn in cash by the fleet manager, and the second would be used to record the actual fuel consumption of the journey.
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In retrospect, the crime was likely to be short-lived because the office had already been pressing the accused for complete information about the financial transactions carried out from early 2024 until early 2025. It is commendable that the crime was unravelled within a year, but even that is a long duration, given the audacity of the crime.
Covers the crime beat, spreading awareness about crimes, scams and everything dastardly.
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