Alipurduar July 30: The Indian Oil Corporation today closed down a petrol pump after receiving complaints that the owner was selling inferior quality petrol.

The company has given samples of petrol, taken from Atarthi Service Station at Alipurduar Junction, for testing after the investigating official found a “variation in the quality”. Senior divisional manager of Indian Oil Subirmal Mandal said: “The service station will be kept closed till we receive the results of the test. If the results show the petrol was doctored, we will take strict action against the owner of the station. If the petrol is found contaminated, then the license will be suspended for a minimum of 30 days and he will have to pay a penalty of Rs. 20,000.”

Twenty five petrol pumps in north Bengal came under the oil corporation scanner last year. “We are very strict in this regard and even last year we had not spared any of the service stations,” he added.

Alipurduar additional district magistrate Srikumar Mandal said he had been intimated about the variation in quality.

“I have issued orders to ensure that the service station remains closed till the corporation completes analysing the quality,” he said.

Uttam Atarthi, owner of the service station, however, denied the allegations. “There is nothing unusual about such routine checks,” he said.

Snakebite death

Sabita Biswas, a resident of Hasan village under Chakulia police station died of snakebite even after she was rushed to the Chakulia health centre because it had no anti-venom in stock, reports our Raiganj correspondent.

A district health department source said Biswas was transferred to Islampur subdivisional hospital, which did not have the serum either. “She was then referred to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital but she died on the way,” he added.

Deputy chief medical officer of health Dilip Bhowmik said: “Hospitals and health centres were ordered to stock a anti-venom serum during the monsoon. An inquiry has been ordered to see why the health centre had not informed us despite having run out of stock.”