PARADIP: Paradip Lock police have uncovered a link between local cops and brokers that enables queue-jumping by iron-laden trucks that poses threat to lives of police personnel and causes frequent road accidents and traffic jams.
A constable and three drivers were arrested on Saturday by local police in connection with such an incident.
Protesting police nexus, three truck owners’ associations, under the banner of Joint Coordination Committee (JCC), have threatened to stage an agitation by halting truck operations indefinitely starting August 16.
Sources indicate thousands of trucks are engaged in transporting cargo like iron ore and coal to Paradip Port. The trucks line up along a 35-km stretch from Paradip to Marsaghai in Kendrapara district, waiting to unload their cargo. Several drivers have to endure wait of seven to 10 days due to traffic congestion, while those who pay extortion money to mafia with the local police’s knowledge manage to jump the queue and unload their cargo within just two to three days, sources said.
A racket is reportedly active in extorting money from truck owners and drivers for allowing them to jump queues. Allegations have also surfaced regarding illegal payments made to police to enable queue-jumping at Paradip.
On July 30, SI Srikant Kumar Sahu of Paradip Lock police station narrowly escaped after being run over by an iron ore-laden truck. Sahu was asking the driver to stop as he had jumped the queue. During investigation, Paradip Lock police arrested three drivers from Jharkhand.
Paradip Lock IIC Kulamani Sethi said, “The police inquiry has unearthed links between police personnel and brokers and three drivers had been arrested earlier while one constable Nihar Ranjan Ransingh nabbed on Saturday.”