Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has intensified its crackdown on illegal hoarding and black marketing of petrol and diesel across the state, with enforcement teams seizing 505 litres of illegally stored diesel from multiple locations on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.
The raids were conducted under the direction of Khordha Collector Amrit Rituraj following instructions from the state government to take strict action against unauthorized fuel trade.
According to officials, a special team comprising the District Civil Supplies Officer, Bhubaneswar Assistant Civil Supplies Officer, Balianta Civil Supplies Inspector and Balipatna Civil Supplies Inspector carried out raids at several petrol pumps and illegal storage centres where diesel and petrol were allegedly being hoarded.
During the operation, 505 litres of diesel were seized from Niranjan Nayak, Bulu Pradhan, Puran Pradhan, Sushant Kumar Choudhury, Tapan Kumar Sahu and five others.
Officials said the accused did not possess distributor licences or mandatory clearance certificates from the Fire Services Department. They were allegedly selling diesel at ₹140 per litre in densely populated areas with the intention of making illegal profits.
Authorities also seized measuring containers and other equipment used in the illegal fuel trade.
The raid was conducted in the presence of District Civil Supplies Officer Gyanendra Mishra, Assistant Civil Supplies Officer Sunita Behera, Balianta Civil Supplies Inspector Alakarani Mallick and Balipatna Civil Supplies Inspector Netrananda Behera.
