Lucknow, Apr 29 (IANS): The Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested 23 persons for using chips in petrol pumps to dupe people buying fuel, an official said on Saturday.

Seven petrol pumps in the state capital have also been sealed, he informed.

The arrested persons include nine petrol pump owners, nine managers, four employees and an electrician.

After consumers complained about alleged malpractices at certain fuel stations, Director General of Police (DGP) Sulkhan Singh handed over the probe to the STF, an elite force to take on organised crime.

The probe revealed a huge racket after which these arrests were made, an official told IANS.

DGP Singh has also issued an advisory to all District Magistrates to ensure that similar crimes do not take place at petrol pumps in their districts.

An official, privy to the investigations, said that each petrol pump was swindling over Rs 50,000 per day by using this chip to give lesser fuel while charging for full.

During the raids conducted by the STF, many machines, chips and remote controls were also recovered and they have now been sealed.

Among those arrested were Rajendra, Virendra Singh Bhadoria, Shared Chandra Vaishya, Rajan Awasthi, Ashok Kumar Pal, Anoop Mittal, Haseeb Ahmad, Govind Pandey and Prem Kumar Ojha.