Odisha officials search SUV looking for narcotics, find cash, 100kg silver bricks

Odisha excise officials said two persons, both of them from Kolkata, were in the sports utility vehicle that was stopped at the toll gate

Published on: Sep 22, 2022, 22:02:18 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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BHUBANESWAR: Over 100kg of silver bricks, ornaments and cash of around ₹12 lakh were seized from a secret chamber of a car by a team of Odisha excise officials on Thursday at a toll gate on NH-16 in Cuttack district . Officials said the vehicle was intercepted on a tip-off that there would be an attempt to move narcotics through the tollgate.

Excise officials said two persons, Dilip Mandal and Atulya Pal of Kolkata, were on their way from Ganjam’s Aska to Kharagpur in West Bengal in a white SUV when they were intercepted at NHAI tollgate at Tangi in Cuttack district. On frisking, the excise officials recovered over 100kg of silver bricks and ₹12 lakh cash from them.

Excise department deputy commissioner Rajat Praharaj said: “Our guards were posted at the toll gate from last night over tip-offs that a huge amount of narcotics was to pass through the tollgate. Our staff found this car speeding towards the toll gate and stopped it. On searching, they recovered the silver bricks and cash from a secret chamber in the car.”

Praharaj said GST officials have been informed and they will interrogate the two persons.

One of the accused told the excise officials that he was to be paid ₹1,000 for every day of travel apart from a lumpsum amount of ₹3,000

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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