Paddy smuggling racket unearthed

 JAGATSINGHPUR/JAJPUR : Police on Saturday unearthed a paddy theft racket in Jagatsinghpur district.
The racket was involved in smuggling paddy from Government market yards in the district. Two trucks, along with 56 bags of paddy weighing 25 tonne, were seized by the police from Chhatia in Jajpur district. The driver of one truck, Sk Kalim Uddin of Neulipur in Jajpur district, was arrested. 

Sources said an FIR was lodged by an agent of private firm Anant Agro Industry of Bargarh, which is responsible for lifting paddy from the market yard of PACS in Garei panchayat under Tirtol police limits, regarding theft of paddy. The accused driver loaded 25 tonne paddy procured from a farmer into his truck for transporting it to Bargarh district. But, the vehicle did not reach the godown of the firm and this aroused the suspicion of the owner.

Later, an agent of the firm, Bindeswar Bhoi, found out that the paddy, lifted on January 18, was stolen following which he lodged an FIR in Tirtol police station. A case was registered by the police.A similar incident was reported by another private firm, Jindal Paddy Processing Unit of Bargarh district. In this case, 306 quintal paddy was lifted from PACS market yard at Adhang Garh under Biridi police limits on January 21. It was supposed to reach the firm’s godown in Bargarh by January 25 but it did not happen. One of the firm’s agents then lodged an FIR in Biridi police station and a case was registered.

Meanwhile, Jagatsinghpur SP Prakash R formed a special team, led by DSP, Jagatsinghpur Prakash Pal to unearth the paddy theft racket. During a raid, the team seized two trucks from a firm in Chhatia of Jajpur district on Saturday. As many as 56 bags containing 25 tonne of paddy were  recovered from the spot.