Sambalpur: The authorities have found gross embezzlement of rice stocks at Durgapali warehouse owned by the Orissa State Warehouse Corporation (OSWC), the state-owned storage agency. An FIR has been registered at Khetrajpur police station in this connection.
Police IIC Jogesh Panda said an FIR (2/2018) under Section 409 of IPC was registered against warehouse-in-charge Arun Swain based on a complaint filed by OSWC regional manager Chakradhar Kanhar.
He said 4,422 packets of rice worth Rs 55 lakhs were found missing from OSWC’s Durgapali warehouse after a physical verification of the stock December 29, the complaint said. The records and the stocks were in order when an inspection had been carried out in July 2017. However, the anomaly was detected in November last year when it was informed to OSWC’s head office at Bhubaneswar.
The bungling of the rice stock was confirmed December 29 when a team from the corporation’s head office came here to verify the alleged missing of stocks at the warehouse. Swain failed to furnish a satisfactory reply about the missing stocks.
Arun Swain went into hiding after the complaint was filed against him. Police said more staff of the warehouse might have been involved in the swindle as such a huge stock of rice cannot be moved overnight and more than one person must have been involved in it.
The stolen rice was meant for public distribution system (PDS) in Sambalpur district. The Orissa state civil supply corporation stored rice in the warehouse as it was meant to be used for PDS purposes in the district. PNN