Ranchi: Recent attacks on several petrol pumps on the outskirts of the city have created fear and panic among dealers, and many are reluctant to work at night.In the last four days, four petrol pumps were targeted by unidentified miscreants, with three incidents occurring on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday alone. Petrol pump employees were injured in coordinated attacks by a gang of armed miscreants, while cash worth lakhs was also looted.Fuel dealers have urged the police to increase patrolling at night, especially on the outskirts of the city, to ensure that they can run their business smoothly. The dealers have appealed to the police to speed up the investigation of the recent cases and catch the miscreants.A delegation of petrol dealers from the city met Ranchi SSP Rakesh Ranjan on Thursday and raised their concerns and urged the police to strengthen security arrangements.Jharkhand Petroleum Dealers Association spokesperson Pramod Kumar said, “The recent incidents have also spread panic among dealers and employees at petrol pumps. The employees are very scared of working at night. During our meeting with the SSP, we appealed to set up a police post in the Ring Road area. This area is often deserted and this may have emboldened the miscreants to carry out the recent attacks.” times of India.Dealers have requested the police to provide security arrangements while carrying cash from fuel stations to deposits in banks. Dealers also called a meeting on Wednesday regarding the incidents.Kumar said he has received a positive response from the police.Rajhans Mishra, president of South Chhotanagpur Petroleum Dealers Association, said, “We are waiting for the police response. If the situation does not improve, we may be forced to close the station at night.”Some dealers have already deployed their own security systems in an effort to prevent future attacks.Kumar said, “After the attacks our staff have become apprehensive of every customer coming to the fuel stations. We are thinking of appointing our own security staff at the petrol pumps, although it will hardly be of any use against armed miscreants.”