Dhenkanal: Police successfully apprehended a group of eight people who were impersonating officials of the Road Safety Department and cheating the public by selling first aid kits, fire extinguishers, and reflector accessories.
The incident came to light on Wednesday near BRG Square under Motanga police station area, where the accused were stopping vehicles, collecting money, and selling items to drivers while misrepresenting themselves as officials of the National Highway Department.
The accused individuals have been identified as Sanjay Singh (38) from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, Rahi Suddin (35) from Delhi, Vikash Kumar Srivastava (33) from Gopalganj, Bihar, Sibshankar Ramsingh (46) from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, Rohit Kumar (33) from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, Pawan Sharma (39) from Delhi, Abinash Sharma (27) from Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Sunny Madhre (31) from Delhi.
During the raid, police seized 25 first aid kits containing medicines and medical supplies, 12 fire extinguishers, reflector reels, jackets, torch, drill machine, and banners marked “Sadak Surakshya Abhijan”, 8 mobile phones, and cash amounting to ₹12,000.
Preliminary investigation suggests that the group was operating under the direction of one Md. Hussain from Bihar, who is believed to be the mastermind behind the syndicate. The accused admitted to being paid ₹700 each per day for conducting such fraudulent activities, with the collected money handed over to their leader.
Motanga Police have registered a case and launched an investigation to apprehend the main accused and ascertain the wider network of the syndicate.
