Head of petrol dealers’ body accused of spreading rumours

Rajkot: President of Rajkot District Petrol Diesel Dealers Association, Gopal Chudasama, was booked on Tuesday for allegedly spreading misinformation about fuel shortage, even as govt's repeated assurances about adequate stock partially helped ease panic buying in Gujarat.An FIR was lodged against Chudasama at Rajkot's Pradyuman Nagar police station by IOCL's divisional retail sales head, Amit Jaiswal, under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 353(1)(B) (spreading false information or rumours likely to cause public panic, disorder, or disruption of public services) and under the Essential Commodities Act. The association has around 200 members.According to the complaint, on March 23, Chudasama, accompanied by 40 to 50 dealers, representatives and media persons, allegedly entered Jaiswal's office at IOCL Bhavan on Racecourse Ring Road without permission. The group inquired about stock and petrol and diesel supply. Jaiswal said he assured them IOCL had sufficient stocks and advised them against spreading false rumours."However, immediately after leaving the IOCL office, Chudasama made false statements on social media, falsely claiming unavailability of fuel at pumps," the FIR states. This misinformation rapidly spread through news channels, reporting that petrol pumps were "dry" and the company had no stock."This misinformation caused people to panic and queue up at petrol pumps, leading to chaos and inconvenience," the FIR states.The rush at petrol pumps eased on Tuesday. However, many stations continued to witness queues and heavy sales, with higher-than-normal sales. On Monday night, several people were seen searching for open petrol pumps till late in the night and even going to pumps on highways, which usually remain operational through the night. Dhimant Ghelani, secretary of Rajkot City Petrol Dealers Association, said, "The situation is returning to normal as adequate stock is being provided to customers. All the pumps have fuel, and some that ran empty were restocked in a short time."The situation was also easing in Jamnagar and Kutch, the govt made assurances at various forums regarding sufficient stock.Ahmedabad saw an intense spillover of panicked fuel buying, with queues persisting in many areas. While lines eased slightly through the day, most outlets continued to report heavy footfall, driven by motorists insisting on full-tank refills.Estimates by oil companies indicate petrol sales rose significantly against normal volumes, with diesel nearly doubling. The rush, triggered by rumours rather than supply issues, stretched operations, with workers deployed overnight to manage crowds and reassure consumers.Customers waited in queues for long periods. Officials said stocks remain adequate, warning that precautionary buying alone risks creating localized shortages.Petrol, diesel sales double in a day:Petrol and diesel sales across Gujarat nearly doubled in a single day on Monday, driven by panic refuelling triggered by rumours of a shortage, with the rush spilling over into Tuesday as well. While queues shortened marginally through the day, most petrol pumps continued to witness heavy footfall.Estimates from oil companies suggest that on Monday fuel sales were normal in the morning before surging sharply after 2pm. Statewide petrol sales rose to 17,798 kilolitres (Kl) against average daily sales of 8,150 Kl, an increase of 118% while diesel sales increased to 26,935 Kl compared to the usual 16,120 Kl, an increase of 67%