Nayagarh: A panchayat executive officer (PEO) and a sarpanch were arrested for allegedly issuing fake ration cards in Nayagarh district.
The accused were identified as Narasinghpur PEO Pratap Nayak and sarpanch Nityananda Pradhan. They were allegedly running the racket for the past 18 months.
The matter came to light after two beneficiaries from Karadapalli village, Jharana Sahu and Balamani Palei, lodged a complaint with the block development officer (BDO) of Ranpur.
The complainants said they had not been getting ration under their cards for the past one-and-a-half years. They also did not get the financial help provided by the Odisha government due to COVID-19 and for those affected by Cyclone Amphan.
After an investigating, the BDO found that others were taking the ration using the names of the real beneficiaries. He then informed police and the PEO and sarpanch were arrested for allegedly issuing fake ration cards.
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