BOKARO: Soon the filling stations in vulnerable areas of the district will have armed guards and CCTV surveillance to avert rising incidents of loot and dacoity.Bokaro superintendent of police (SP) Y S Ramesh on Tuesday held a meeting with petrol pump owners to discuss measures to beef up security of the filling stations. The district has as many as 73 petrol pumps of which at least two dozen pumps are located in Maoist-hit areas where security is of major concern."CCTV installation in petrol pumps has been made compulsory. Besides we have also decided to provide armed guards at petrol pumps situated in vulnerable areas," Ramesh said.Spokesperson of Bokaro district petroleum dealers' association, Amardeep said petrol pumps are increasingly becoming soft targets of criminals. On July 5, at least 5 armed men looted Rs 1.33 lakh from Damodar Feld Service Station under Gandhinagar police station area.Ramesh said effective coordination between police station and petrol pumps is needed to avert such incidents. "We asked the petrol pump owners to install alarm system and communicate immediately to control room (dial 100) at a time of emergency".The SP said petrol pump owners have been asked to inform police about heavy cash transactions as a security measure. "Most importantly, we have decided to conduct security audit by by officers in-charge of police stations every fortnight," he added.Police patrolling is being intensified near petrol pumps.

Stay updated with all the Latest Ranchi headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.