Padmapur: Illegal coal smuggling is on the rise in Dhamra area of Bhadrak district despite raids by the police.
Now, the police are on the coal mafia’s target. The mafia tried to run a pick-up van over a constable of Sabarnaga outpost Sunday. The constable was critically injured.
According to reports, the police while carrying out night patrolling in the area intercepted a coal-laden pick-up van at Erada Chhak.
On seeing the police, the driver jumped out of the running vehicle and managed to run away. The vehicle ran over constable Rajat Kumar Panigrahi before crashing to a roadside creek.
OIC Ranjan Kumar Mohanty and constable Santosh Kumar Biswal rushed the injured to the district headquarters hospital.
ASP Bikash Das along with the IIC of Rural police station visited the injured at the hospital.
As the condition of the constable was critical, he was shifted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.
Police seized the van which had about 2 tonnes of coal. The owner of the van is Fakiruddin Khan.
A case was registered at the Rural police station.
It is alleged the coal smuggling racket is thriving with the tacit support of some police officials and a senior staff (in-charge of security) of DPCL, Dhamra. Coal smuggling is going on even on water routes.
PNN
