Mizoram: Man arrested in Aizawl for fraudulent payment scheme at petrol pump

A man was arrested in Aizawl on November 9 after he was caught cheating customers at a petrol pump by swapping QR codes for payment through G-Pay. H. Lalrohlua, a 23-year-old resident of Hrangchalkawn, Lunglei, who is currently living in Aizawl’s Armed Veng locality, was apprehended by Aizawl Police following a complaint filed by the Mizofed Petrol Pump management at Treasury Square.

The incident came to light after CCTV footage revealed Lalrohlua pasting his own G-Pay QR code over the pump's original QR code, redirecting customer payments to his personal account. The footage soon went viral on social media, drawing attention to the fraudulent activity.

Police investigation revealed that Lalrohlua had illegally received payments from several customers refueling their vehicles. Transaction records from his G-Pay account showed amounts of Rs. 1000, Rs. 425, and Rs. 890, all corresponding to petrol purchases made at the pump. Lalrohlua had also made a transaction of Rs. 890 himself.

According to police reports, the fraud was discovered when petrol pump employees noticed they were not receiving the usual payment confirmation alerts after transactions were completed. "We were suspicious because there was no credit alert from G-Pay," said a staff member at the Mizofed Petrol Pump.

Rohimliana (Chatea), the manager of the petrol station, explained the situation to India Today NE and said that they became aware of the fraud after a customer pointed out an unfamiliar name on their G-Pay transaction. "When we realized the payment had gone to Lalrohlua’s account, I made a small payment of Re. 1 to confirm the fraud. I then informed him that I would report him to the authorities,” Rohimliana said. After the confirmation, the pump management contacted the police.

Following the investigation, Lalrohlua was arrested, and his mobile phone was seized by the police. Though he attempted to refund some of the money after being confronted, the amount he had already siphoned off was substantial.

Lalrohlua, who has no prior criminal record, is currently in police custody at Aizawl Police Station. He is expected to be formally charged and sent to jail on Monday.