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    Criminal case registered against Petroleum minister's brother

    Synopsis

    The raids coming days after the CBI searched the homes and offices of a BJD MP, an MLA and a former employee of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

    ET Bureau
    BHUBANESHWAR: Odisha's vigilance department has registered a criminal case against Soumendra Pradhan, brother of Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, days after it raided his LPG agency in Angul district .

    On Saturday the Pradhan Gas Service (HP) and several gas stations were raided in, what the police said, was a crackdown on adulteration. The police said 40 cylinders, missing from the agency in Angul which has been with the family since more than a decade, were traced to a godown of one Debaraj Panda of Talcher. Panda held some 83 unaccounted for cylinders.

    The raids come days after the CBI searched the homes and offices of a BJD MP, an MLA and a former employee of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

    The timing of those raids were questioned, coming as they did after the election commission had announced dates for the panchayat elections in the state next month. The CBI had questioned the same people a year or two ago and not acted since, pointed out BJP's Bijoy Mohapatra who is believed to have differences with Pradhan.

    Meanwhile Odisha's BJP unit point out that the Pradhan family's agency was the only agency searched on Saturday - the rest were petrol pumps.

    The Minister, who is considered the face of the party in the state, endorsed by party president and Narendra Modi during their visits to Odisha, could not be reached for a comment. He is believed to have addressed the issue in Delhi however where he reportedly told the media the law would take its own course. Ironically a phrase that Naveen Patnaik uses often in the face of controversies.

    Soumendra Pradhan and two of his employees were booked under the Essential Commodities Act, Explosive Act and IPC Sections dealing with negligent conduct with respect to fire, cheating and criminal conspiracy said a senior official of the Vigilance department of Odisha Police. Pradhan has moved the High Court of Odisha for anticipatory bail.

    R P Sharma, DG Vigilance has defended the raids against allegations that they were politically motivated stating that such a large exercise cannot be carried out on short notice.


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