Rayagada gems get political colour

Smuggling rampant under the patronage of Minister and local leaders, alleges Congress
Rayagada gems get political colour

BERHAMPUR/BHUBANESWAR: Special Task Force of the Crime Branch on Tuesday arrested a man possessing gemstones worth `1.5 crore. Identified as 48-year-old Jitendra Kumar Behera, the STF team raided his house and laid hands on two sacks of precious stones. 

However, it is Behera’s alleged links with ruling party leaders which might turn out to be another political controversy.On a tip-off, a team of STF accompanied by Rayagada police raided the house of Behera. During search, 22 varieties semi-precious stones including panna, ruby, topaz, moonstone, tourmaline, amethyst, rainbow, quartz, black diamond and gomed stones were found. The gemstones weighing 151 kg were worth around `1.5 crore.

Basing on a complaint of STF, a case was registered in Rayagada Town police station under Sections 379/411 of the IPC and R/W Section 12 of Odisha Minerals (Prevention of Theft, Smuggling and other Unlawful Activities) Act, 1988, said SP Saravana Vivek M.

As the news of Behera’s arrest spread, Opposition political parties launched a scathing attack on BJD as Behera was alleged to be an active worker of the ruling outfit. Behera reportedly also has close links with a BJD MP, MLA and a minister.

Congress president Durga Prasad Panda and secretary Sankarsana Mangaraj allged that Minister of ST/SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Minister Jaganath Saraka and other BJD leaders are associated with Behera. They said gemstone smuggling was rampant in the district under the patronage of the Minister and local leaders.

“Behera, who is also involved in ganja smuggling, has close relations with several ministers and MLAs of BJD including the recently expelled Gopalpur legislator Pradeep Panigrahy. He even participated in BJD meetings as a party activist as shows in his social media accounts,” they said.They further alleged that elected representatives of BJD frequently visited Behera’s house at Jagannath Complex which can be proved from the CCTV footage.

Similarly, the district unit of Bahujan Samaj Party demanded a CBI inquiry into the crime records of Behera. The BJP too announced to disclose vital evidence of involvement of BJD leaders in gemstone and ganja smuggling.

Sources said many sellers in Nuapada, Kalahandi and Koraput districts procure these gemstones themselves by digging in mines of these regions. Many sellers had unsold gemstones with them during the lockdown period as they were unable to travel and they had handed over their stock to Behera to arrange buyers,” said a senior police officer. 

The accused is a contractor and had reportedly kept the gemstones in his house until he found the potential buyers. “There are some old mines in the State where people illegally manage to dig using their bare hands and without any equipment to obtain gemstones,” said sources. 

Samples of the seized gemstones will be sent to a gemological laboratory for further examination, said a senior police officer. 

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