Amid rumours of a possible petrol and diesel shortage in the city, several cases of fraud have come to light over the past two days, where vehicle owners allegedly deceived petrol pump staff by pretending to make payments via ‘PhonePe’ during heavy rush hours.

Following widespread social media messages claiming “petrol and diesel will not be available,” huge crowds were witnessed at petrol pumps across Belagavi city from Monday night until Tuesday evening. Despite no official confirmation of any fuel shortage, panic buying led to an unprecedented rush at fuel stations.

Taking advantage of the chaos, many motorists reportedly showed fake ‘PhonePe’ payment confirmations and fled without actually paying, thereby cheating petrol pump employees. As a result, staff members have had to face the anger of pump owners, putting them in a difficult situation.

Meanwhile, the rush at petrol pumps that was seen on Monday and Tuesday subsided from Wednesday onwards. By Thursday morning, several petrol pumps were nearly deserted, with staff seen sitting idle and taking rest due to the sudden drop in customers.