Petrol will be provided to customers in Udham Singh Nagar only if they show their face before a CCTV camera and call a number. (Representational pic)

Days after bike-borne armed robbers looted a petrol pump in Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttarakhand, the police in the district have come up with a strategy to check the rising number of such crimes. The police have ordered that petrol will be provided to customers during the night only if they show their face before a CCTV camera and call a number.

The exercise has been introduced by police in Pulbhatta area of the district to check incidents of loot.

Earlier on Sunday night, three bike-brone robbers had looted a petrol pump located in Bazpur town and decamped with Rs 7 lakh cash. The petrol pump belonged to former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s brother Inder Singh Hooda.

Just three months ago, some people in a car had looted cash and a double-barrel gun from a security guard from a petrol pump. The crime had taken place under the limits of Pulbhatta police station.

Pulbhatta is considered a sensitive area because of its geographical location. It is close to Uttar Pradesh’s crime-prone Bareilly district.

Vinod Joshi, in-charge, police station, Pulbhatta, said most people fill their vehicles’ tanks during the daytime and customers come at petrol pumps only in an emergency or to commit crime at night.

“If they come at night, they will have to show their faces before CCTV and call from their mobile at a certain mobile number mentioned at petrol pump’s wall,” Vinod Joshi told Hindustan Times.

As a precautionary measure from Coronavirus, people are wearing masks. In such a situation, their face is not recorded in the CCTVs and it becomes difficult for the police to identify criminals. The decision will now make them remove masks and CCTV will record faces.

Explaining the rationale behind asking customers to call a mobile, Joshi said that this will help police to trace criminals.

As per the order, the salesmen will stay in the cabin and will ask the customer to follow the instructions. The sales executives will come out of the cabin only after customers fulfil the mandatory conditions.

According to police, at least 10 petrol pumps fall on Bareilly highway in Pulbhatta area, thus making it vulnerable to criminal activities.

Besides, the fuel station owners have been asked to obtain mobile numbers of night officers of the police station and provide regular updates about the status of the petrol pump.