The Rajkot City Police on Saturday began deploying police personnel at certain fuel retail outlets just five days after a notification by the Commissioner of Police said that vehicles without legal and clearly visible and legible High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) would not be able to access petrol, diesel or CNG.

This deployment came in light of conflict between employees at fuel outlets and potential customers who were turned away because of this new regulation.

Police confirmed that personnel had been deployed at around 15 petrol pumps in the city after a representation from the Rajkot Petrol Diesel Dealers Association that there were certain outlets where there were more conflicts.

Association Secretary Kalpesh Cholera told The Indian Express, “There were conflicts at certain fuel outlets and so we asked the senior police officers to help out in this matter. They have deployed personnel to 15-17 pumps. We have also been told to inform them that police need to be deployed at other pumps to aid in this initiative.”

Additional Commissioner of Police Chaitanya Mandlik told The Indian Express, “On the request of the association and in light of complaints of conflicts at the fuel outlets we have deployed police personnel. Since August 18, we have detained 157 vehicles without number plates.”

Meanwhile, after a video of Rajkot (West) MLA Dr Darshita Shah purportedly riding pillion on a two-wheeler without the back registration plate went viral, the police found it was being driven by a BJP Corporator and that the vehicle had been borrowed from someone else. DCP (Traffic) Harpalsinh Jadeja confirmed that the owner of the vehicle paid a fine of Rs 300.

In another such incident, an SUV belonging to Nagdan Chavda, a former Rajkot district president of the BJP, was found to be without number plate and with illegal black film on the windows. DCP Jadeja said, “The owner of this vehicle made two violations, the number plate and black film which has been deemed illegal by the Supreme Court.

The owner claimed that the car had gone for repairs and that the plates had been put back on the vehicle after that. He paid Rs 500 in fine for the number plates and another Rs 500 for the black film.”