BARIPADA: Mayurbhanj SP Varun Guntupalli on Sunday suspended an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) and a constable for allegedly leaking confidential information to cattle smugglers, enabling them to evade police raids.
ASI Ranjit Naik and constable Ashikha Naik, both posted at Jharpokharia police station, were suspended following the directions of DIG (Eastern Range) Pinak Mishra. A home guard attached to the same police station is also likely to be suspended after authorities receive his reply to a recently issued show-cause notice.
The action followed a departmental inquiry initiated after a series of complaints to the DIG regarding rampant illegal cattle smuggling through Mayurbhanj, Balasore and Bhadrak districts to West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar, with the alleged support of local smugglers.
The DIG had directed the SPs of the three districts to constitute special teams to raid the houses of persons linked to the illegal cattle trade. Acting on the directive, police conducted simultaneous raids at 19 locations across the three districts on June 13 to trace movable and immovable assets and other valuables allegedly acquired through cattle smuggling.
Among those was Uttam Kumar Dandpat, who reportedly posed as a social worker in Saraskana under Jharpokharia police limits while being involved in an illegal cattle smuggling racket. However, he had fled before the police reached his residence to conduct the raid.
Uttam’s escape raised suspicions that information about the operation had been leaked from within the police station. Following the SP’s directions, an internal inquiry was launched against the personnel posted at Jharpokharia police station.
Police sources said the investigation, including an analysis of call detail records, revealed that the ASI, the constable and the home guard had shared information about the planned raids with cattle smugglers, allowing them to escape.
