Pune: The Talegaon MIDC police have registered a case against three employees of a petrol pump in Ambi village of Maval taluka for allegedly cheating the owner of Rs 25 lakh by diverting customer payments into their personal UPI accounts instead of the petrol pump’s official payment account.According to the police, the accused collected payments from customers through their own UPI IDs and the UPI IDs of other workers between April 1 and May 25 this year. The alleged fraud was uncovered during an internal audit conducted by the petrol pump management. Following the discovery, the owner approached the Talegaon MIDC police and lodged a complaint on Friday.The accused have been booked under sections 318 (cheating) and 316 (criminal breach of trust) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).A police officer said the three employees had been specifically instructed to accept digital payments only through the petrol pump’s authorised UPI ID. “Instead, they diverted the payments to their personal UPI accounts and those of other workers,” the officer said.To conceal the fraud, the accused allegedly made false entries in the petrol pump’s records and registers, preventing the owner from noticing the discrepancies. Police said the trio misappropriated Rs 25 lakh over nearly two months. Further investigation is underway.
