Odisha SP Confirms Report Of Irregularities In Cash Seizure During Raid On Lodge

Bhubaneswar: A day after seven persons have detained with Rs 58 lakh from Kantabanji Annapurna lodge in Odisha, Balangir SP Nitin Kusalkar on Saturday admitted to discrepancies in reports regarding the seizure of cash.

“An Additional SP was sent on Friday to investigate the matter. There are some irregularities in the seizure amount but we can provide details in this matter only after we receive the final report on basis of which further action will be taken,” he told a local news channel.

There is a difference of about 13 lakh in the seizure amount disclosed by Kantabanji police and the SDPO.

On Friday, a raid was conducted at Annapurna lodge at Parshuram Chhak of the town where the detained persons were allegedly gambling. Playing cards, mobile phones and a huge amount of cash stashed in a container were seized.

Police said that the seven detainees from Andhra Pradesh were into agriculture and business and were on a tour to Harishankar and Puri. They arrived at Kantabanji on Thursday. It was also suspected that they were involved in labour trafficking.

The SP said the district had seen 3 times rise in labour trafficking cases last year and step are being taken to check the menace.