The Marshaghai police on last midnight seized about 12,000 liters of blue dyed PDS kerosene and seized a boat and a tanker near the luna Bridge on NH-5(A) at Kusunpur while the PDS kerosene was unloaded from the tanker to the boat for black marketing.
Marshaghai police station IIC Sukanta Kumar Patra said the police arrested two persons in the case.
They were identified as Sekhar Singh, the driver of the tanker and Prasanna Swain, the helper. A case against the duo was registered under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act.
According to Civil Supply Officer (CSO) Ramchandra Sahu, the PDS kerosene was loaded on the tanker at the Paradip Depot.
It was scheduled to go to a Puri-based dealer. But the driver of the tanker allegedly diverted the vehicle while it was heading to Puri and managed to unload the PDS kerosene in a boat through pipe on the tanker with an aim to transport the PDS kerosene illegally in the black market.
Meanwhile, theCivil Supply Officer (CSO) pumped out the PDS kerosene from the boat’s tank by engaging a motor pump. The police failed to nab the boat driver as he fled the spot.