Indore Fraud Case: Seven Booked for Rs 5.72 Crore BPCL Digital Payment Scam
In a significant development, seven individuals from Indore have been formally booked for allegedly cheating Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) of approximately Rs 5.72 crore. This case is part of a larger nationwide fraud involving 1,093 people accused of causing a total loss of nearly Rs 129.55 crore to the public sector oil marketing giant over the past few years.
Police Complaint and Investigation Details
Deputy Superintendent of Police Umakant Choudhary provided detailed insights into the case. The matter came to light after a BPCL official approached the Kshipra police station on March 31 and submitted a written application. This complaint highlighted serious allegations of forgery within BPCL's digital payment system and alleged manipulation in transactions that were routed through a payment gateway.
"BPCL's regional manager submitted a written complaint on March 31 stating forgery in their payment system," DSP Choudhary explained. "Seven individuals from Indore were continuously procuring petrol and diesel since 2023 through the fleet cards issued by the company without having the payment debited. Even after notices were issued by BPCL, they did not make the payment, and fraud of approximately Rs 5.72 crore has been committed."
Based on this detailed complaint, authorities have registered a formal case against the seven accused individuals. The charges include cheating and dishonesty under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code at the Kshipra police station in Indore.
BPCL's Loyalty Program and Payment Mechanism
The fraud revolves around BPCL's loyalty program launched in 2021. Under this scheme, the company issued specialized cards through its loyalty application to two categories of users:
- Transporters (Business-to-Business or B2B)
- Individual customers (Business-to-Customer or B2C)
Participants were required to fill in certain details during registration. BPCL then established a system to debit payments directly from their linked bank accounts through the Razorpay payment gateway. This automated process was designed to streamline transactions for regular fuel purchases.
However, since 2023, the accused individuals allegedly exploited this system. They continued to purchase petrol and diesel using their issued cards, but the payments that were supposed to be automatically debited from their bank accounts failed to process through the gateway.
Nationwide Scale of the Fraud
The Indore case represents just a fraction of a much larger problem. BPCL officials revealed in their complaint that when they received information from the Razorpay team about payment irregularities, they conducted a comprehensive investigation.
"BPCL officials stated in the complaint that when it received this information from the Razorpay team, it conducted an investigation and found that 1,093 such cardholders across the country had committed similar fraud," DSP Choudhary elaborated. "This nationwide fraud has caused a staggering loss of Rs 129.55 crore to the company. Out of this total amount, seven individuals from Indore specifically committed fraud worth Rs 5.72 crore, against whom a case has now been registered."
Identities of the Accused
The seven individuals facing charges in this Indore-based fraud case have been identified as:
- Vishal Singh
- Shashi Singh
- Dalwar Singh
- Baljindar Singh
- Vahid Khan
- Narendra Singh Basu
- Balveer Singh
This case highlights growing concerns about vulnerabilities in digital payment systems and loyalty programs within India's petroleum sector. Authorities continue their investigation into both the Indore-specific fraud and the broader nationwide scheme affecting BPCL's operations.
