Balangir police hauled up over 85 quintals of PDS rice during a raid conducted by a special squad on Monday evening. Two persons, including a rice mill owner, were arrested for hoarding the PDS rice in their premises without valid authority.
Police identified the accused as Nepal Samal of Saintala and Anil Agrawal, owner of Bhagawati rice mill of Titilagarh. Police forwarded them to the judicial custody on Tuesday.
“We came across a huge quantity of PDS rice hoarded by unscrupulous traders without a license. The rice was meant for the BPL category poor people. So possibility of recycling of PDS rice in the district cannot be ruled out,” said Balangir SP Awinash Kumar.
Sources said a special squad under inspector Ranjan Patanik raided various places in Saintala and Titilagarh police station limits to curb illegal hoarding of PDS rice meant for poor people. “We seized 10 quintals of PDS rice from the house of Nepal Samal in Ghunsur village of Saintala police station limits. Samal was arrested after he failed to show documents for keeping the PDS rice in his house,” Patnaik said.
Another raid was conducted at Bhagwati rice mill of Titilagarh in which 75 quintals of unauthorized PDS rice was seized. The owner of the mill Anil Agrawal was arrested and forwarded to judicial custody, Patanik said.
Sources said police started a manhunt to nab another trader Ganesh Agrawal, who is absconding.
