As many as 20 petrol pumps in and around Hazaribagh town will go on an indefinite strike from Thursday midnight in protest against the raid on a fuel station at Nawabgunj and the consequent filing of FIR against its owner.

The protesters, under the aegis of Jharkhand Petroleum Dealers’ Association, Hazaribagh chapter, accused the district administration of “excesses”. They also hinted at a statewide strike.

A team, led by subdivisional officer of Sadar Rachana Bhagat, raided Laxmi petrol pump on July 3. The raid was carried out on complaints that the petrol pump was indulging in irregularities like selling sub-standard fuel and tweaking quantities. The pump was sealed and sample taken for tests. On Thursday, an FIR was lodged against owner Gyan Chandra Agarwal.

President of the association Rajkumar Ajmera said: “What the administration did was wrong. If it had found irregularities, it should have issued showcause. We are businessmen, not criminals.”

This is not the first time that the administration cracked down on the Nawabgunj pump. In 2008, a team had sealed the pump following complaints that it was selling adulterated fuel.