Storage Agent held after absconding for 4 yrs

The Pioneer, Oct 2, 2011
Storage agent Durga Patnaik was arrested here on Friday after absconding for about four years to evade arrest over two cases filed against him for siphoning off BPL rice. He was forwarded to court immediately. Patnaik was remanded to judicial custody as his bail application was rejected.


It was reported earlier that BPL rice meant for poor people was siphoned of by the storage agent on a massive scale.

While a case (48/2007) was registered against him in the Thuamur Rampur police station the Crime Branch had also registered another case in 2008. Around forty tribals in Thuamul Rampur block reportedly died of starvation in 2007 because they did not get a kilo gram of BPL rice which was siphoned off by the storage agent.

Kalahandi MP Bhakta Charan Das had sat on fast for 72 hours before the district Collectorate demanding his arrest and dispensation of justice to the deceased.