IndianOil will hire postmen to check fake LPG connections

IndianOil will employ postmen to spy on fake gas connections

IndianOil will hire postmen to spy on its cooking gas customers to check fake connections. As part of a proposed deal between the company and the Department of Post, the postmen will help the customer care division of IndianOil in verifying the address and identity of registered customers. Elaborating on the deal, a senior IndianOil officer said that the company believes that postmen might prove handy in these verifications.

"As part of IndianOil's deal with the postal department, the company will provide the postmen with soft copies of the customer's documents, which will include identity numbers, address and the number of cylinders issued on a particular connection. It'll be called the physical verification of the customers. Postmen will also note the change of address of the customers. Any anomaly in such verification will render the connection a fake one. The postmen will then finally submit their findings to the company," said the official.

He added that the new method will help the company unearth fake connection rackets. "The company's survey team has found that many fake connection rackets thrive in the capital. Most of these groups make use of fake address proof and identities. I hope the postmen will be identify such groups," the official said.

Alkesh Tyagi, an official in the publicity department of the Department of Post, admitted that a deal was being struck with IndianOil, but it was at the stage of proposal. "It'll be given a final shape once the payment for postmen is fixed," she said. She also said that the postal department has already successfully provided the services of its postmen to verify customer details for some telecom companies. "Given the decrease in actual postal services, such tie-ups with corporate groups will keep post offices relevant and profit-generating," she added.
Sunday Guardian, New Delhi, Dec 2011