Allege Haladipadia is a brown sugar smuggling point
A large number of slum dwellers, mostly women, belonging to Haladipadia slum here blocked the road in front of the laxmisagar police station for a few hours protesting illegal detention of a fellow resident and demanding his immediate release. They alleged that the police had arrested him ‘illegally’ on Sunday on the charge of brown sugar smuggling.
Bijay Mandal, a protester, alleged that though the residents of the slum had been complaining before the police that brown sugar smuggling was rampant in Haladipadia over last few years, but the police did not take any action. On the contrary, instead of nabbing the actual culprits, the police arrested Ram as he had proved himself to be trouble maker for the police by leading an agitation against the illegal trade.
Bijay said, “One Pramod Mohanty, a habitual offender and also a resident in the Haladipadia slum, is doing brown sugar trade with the help of laxmisagar police. He resumed his business last week after returning from jail undeterred by his seven months’ confinement. We had urged the police to take immediate action against Mohanty, but in vain.”
After the police took no action, we raided Pramod’s house on Sundayand asked him not to do the trade in the slum. During an argument, a scuffle erupted in which Pramod sustained minor injuries. However, the police arrested Ram and forwarded him to court on the charge of illegal brown sugar trade, charged Bijay.
The protestors alleged that Haladipadia slum has become a major transit point of ‘brown sugar’ smuggling in Bhubaneswar. “Smugglers are doing the trade by engaging girls and in connivance with a few venal police officials here,” said another protestor. “We demand immediate arrest of actual culprits engaged in the business and also action against some corrupt police officials of the laxmisagar police station,” a few protestors said.