Sonepat: Oil dealers call off strike after assurance on security by Anil Vij

Sonepat, August 26

The protesting petroleum dealers, who shut their petrol pumps on Friday morning, called off their strike in the evening after getting assurance from Home Minister Anil Vij in the evening today.

Following the call of the Haryana Petroleum Dealers’ Association (HPDA), around 200 petrol pumps in the district closed their shutters in the morning. The protesting dealers demanded the arrest of the ‘Axe gang’ at the earliest. Sanjeev Chaudhary, president, HPDA, said the petroleum dealers went on strike in the morning at 6am today and the protest was 100 per cent successful in Sonepat today.

The dealers went on strike for 24 hours from 6 am on Thursday to 6 am on Friday, but the strike was called off in the evening at 6 pm after getting assurance from the Home Minister Anil Vij, he said.

Chaudhary said MLA Rai Mohan Lal Badoli, who is also a petroleum dealer, HPDA secretary Raj Kumar Kataria and other members held a meeting with Home Minister Anil Vij through teleconferencing over the issues.

The members raised the security issues of the petrol stations across the state and also demanded arrest of the ‘Axe-gang’ members, who were involved in five robberies at the petrol stations in Sonepat in the past 15 days, he added. The Home Minister assured the petroleum dealers to provide special patrolling and security arrangements at petrol stations across the state and also assured that the members of ‘Axe-gang’ would be nabbed within a week, Chaudhary added.

Vij also gave directions to the Sonepat SP regarding the case, he added. Besides, the members of the HPDA, Sonepat, held a meeting in the evening at Bhagat filling station,and decided to call off the strike.