Case filed against Union minister’s brother

RAIDS ON GAS AGENCIES IN ODISHA

TWO DAYS after raiding a gas agency owned by Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s brother Soumendra at Handidhua area of Talcher, the Odisha Vigilance Department on Monday conducted further raids following reports of alleged unauthorised sale of LPG cylinders by Soumendra and three others.

The raids started Monday evening and continued till late.

Soumendra, elder brother of the petroleum minister, Monday movedthehighcourtseekinganticipatory bail after the Vigilance Department registered a case againsthiminconnectionwithirregularities and adulteration. Vigilance Department director R P Sharma said a case under sections of IPC and Indian Explosives Act was lodged against Soumendra and the three others.

Anant Kumar Bhuyan, director, Food Supply and Consumer Welfare Department, said that in many cases petrol stations were found supplying fuel without requiredverificationandtherewere instances of short delivery and discrepancies in measurement.

Intheraidin28petrolstations and gas agencies across the state on Saturday, Vigilance sleuths reportedly found adulteration of fuel and pilferage of tanks. In Talcher, Saturday’s raids reportedly found discrepancy in number of LPG cylinders in Soumendra’s gas agency. Vigilance officials said the gas cylinders were sold illegally to one Debaraj Pandaoftalcherwithoutanydocument.recordsallegedlyshowed the cylinders were issued in the name of different consumers of the agency with fake documents.

BJP general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan said the state government wanted to create a scare among rural gas agencies, and state BJP leaders called it politics of vendetta by the state government following recent CBI raids on premises of BJD MP Rabindra Jena and MLA Pravat Biswal. Pradhan said, “No one is above law. Law will take its course if any irregularity is found.”

State Agriculture Minister and BJD leader Pradeep Maharathy denied any politics and said raids would be undertaken if irregularities are found.