Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's convoy ran into trouble on Thursday after all 19 vehicles broke down one after the other, leaving the road looking more like a scrapyard than a VIP route.
The SUVs in the convoy were on its way to Ratlam, where Mr Yadav is scheduled to attend an event on Friday, when it began jerking and stalling one after another, forcing drivers to push them off road.
As authorities scrambled to arrange for a replacement fleet, they also assessed the possibility of a possible diesel adulteration at a local pump where all the vehicles had stopped for refuelling.
"The issue began with one or two vehicles, but soon all of them came to a halt," said Shubham Verma, a driver from the convoy. "We had filled over 350 litres of diesel from a local petrol pump. When we confronted the staff, they denied any possibility of contamination. But a local resident showed us a bottle filled from the same pump - it had visible layers of diesel and water."
The Food and Civil Supplies Department collected samples and confirmed the presence of water in the diesel supplied by the station.
"We are investigating the matter. We cannot specify the exact quantity of water at this stage, but we are checking the stock and will submit a detailed report to the Ratlam Collector," Food Department officer Anand Gole said.
He added that the petrol pump is being sealed for now.
Officials from the administration and the Food Department are now examining fuel stock and pump records. The petrol pump's sales officer declined to comment on the matter, saying he was "not authorised" to speak.
Officials managed to arrange for a replacement fleet for Mr Yadav from Indore.
The Chief Minister's visit remained unaffected but the incident highlighted serious lapses in fuel quality control.
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