Fuel scam whiff in blind GPS trackers

Officials have found the GPS-enabled vehicle-tracker installed in all the 13 fogging vehicles defunct and are investigating if these were deliberately tampered with to pilfer petrol.

LUCKNOW: The municipal corporation, probing how petrol was siphoned off from one of its fogging vehicles recently, has chanced upon irregularities more intense than it imagined. Officials have found the GPS-enabled vehicle-tracker installed in all the 13 fogging vehicles defunct and are investigating if these were deliberately tampered with to pilfer petrol.

In May this year, the LMC had spent Rs 2 crore to install VTS or vehicle-tracking system in each of its 200-strong fleet of vehicles. The drive was prompted by petrol theft by two employees in April. They sold the fuel for a premium in the black market and skipped fogging duties.

The device, which works in real time, not only tracked vehicle location but also recorded the duration spent by each in their allotted area. It helped the civic body bring 17 truant workers to book.

According to LMC officials, the recent petrol theft came to the fore when the control room lost GPS on the fogging truck assigned to Ibrahimpur ward on Tuesday.