Panic buying triggered chaos and a violent clash at a petrol pump in Maharashtra’s Washim district after hundreds of people gathered to buy diesel and petrol amid a fuel shortage.
Jitendra Chopra, an Indian Oil dealer from Washim, said a tanker carrying 15,000 litres of diesel and 5,000 litres of petrol reached his petrol pump at around 2.30 pm to 3 pm on Saturday. He said nearly 400 to 500 people gathered at the pump with vehicles and fuel cans soon after the tanker entered the premises.
According to Chopra, around 100 vehicles stood in line for diesel while the fuel tanker was being unloaded. He said the petrol pump could not start fuel sales immediately because the automation system does not allow sales during unloading operations.
Chopra said the diesel unloading point and petrol unloading point were located separately inside the petrol pump. He said people stopped the tanker from moving towards the petrol storage area when workers attempted to unload petrol.
He said the crowd eventually allowed the tanker to move after repeated requests, but a clash broke out among people waiting for fuel. Chopra said people first started hitting each other with their hands before attacking one another with fuel cans. He added that some people also brought wooden sticks from outside and tried to assault others during the clash.
Chopra said police personnel reached the spot along with petrol pump staff and managed to control the situation.
After the situation calmed down, the petrol pump resumed fuel sales. Chopra said the pump distributed only 10 to 15 litres of fuel per vehicle so that more people could receive diesel and petrol for essential work. He said fuel sales continued till around 10 pm, after which the petrol pump completely ran out of diesel and petrol.
Chopra warned that petrol pump operators may have to reconsider bringing and selling fuel if panic situations continue without adequate police protection from the administration. He said dealers may stop selling diesel and petrol until the situation becomes peaceful.
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Published By:
Akshat Trivedi
Published On:
May 17, 2026 18:16 IST
