Four held for stealing cigarette consignment
PARADIP: Police on Monday arrested four persons for allegedly stealing 27 boxes of cigarette packets from the port and transporting the consignment to Kolkata. During patrolling in the port area on Sunday night, police spotted the accused persons loading 27 boxes of imported cigarettes in a bus that was scheduled to leave from Paradip for Kolkata at 5 am on Monday. The bus was being loaded at an isolated place of Jagannath colony of the port town, where a pick-up van was pressed into service for transporting the cigarette packets to the spot.
The accused are Jagannath Mandal, Siba Prasad Das and pick-up van driver Ranjan Mallick, all from Jagannath colony in Paradip town, besides bus helper Sujit Maiti of Midnapore (West Bengal). After being caught red-handed, the accused confessed to theft of the consignment. Police arrested them and also seized the bus, van and the stolen items.
Paradip Model IIC Rajanikant Mishra said a case under sections 379, 411 and 34 of the IPC has been registered. The accused were produced in court and remanded to judicial custody.