PARADIP: A joint raid by Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Crime Branch of Odisha Police on Tuesday led to the recovery of 3.4 tonne of stolen coal from a private godown in Jagatsinghpur’s Tirtol area on Tuesday.
Owner of the godown Sankar Das, a resident of Rahama within Tirtol police limits, was arrested for his alleged involvement in the coal theft.
Apart from 1,216 gunny bags filled with coal, 200 litre of stolen petrol and 2,200 litre of diesel were also seized from the godown.
Sources said coal theft rackets targeting cargo-laden trains are active in Paradip, causing significant losses to the state exchequer. These rackets are engaged in looting coal from different points along Cuttack-Paradip railway line besides stationary goods trains.
The local mafia come prepared with gunny bags to systematically steal the coal from uncovered rakes. The stolen coal is then transported in tractors and secured in private godowns. Poor security measures are cited as the major reason behind increasing incidents of theft.
IIC of Paradip Railway police P Kumar said, “The accused arrested during the raid was produced in court on Wednesday. We will intensify raids to end the coal theft racket active in Paradip.”
Earlier on January 30, Railway police had raided a place near Siju village in Paradip and seized 20 bags of coal reportedly stolen from goods trains at different locations. However, the thieves managed to flee during the raid.
