TV
Kendu leaves worth Rs 2 lakh, collected from the forest and stored in a government godown in the Daspalla area of Odisha’s Nayagarh district, was looted by miscreants late last night. Locals suspect it to be the handiwork of Maoists while forest officials suspect some anti-socials behind the act.
According to sources, the kendu leaves were stored in Sakeni Kendu Godown in Daspalla area. Late Wednesday night, around 10 masked miscreants armed with pistols, knives, and swords arrived at the godown and threatened the employees who were sleeping.
All the employees present at the godown were locked inside a room before the miscreants fled with sacks of kendu leaves worth Rs 2 lakh.
“We were deep asleep when I heard some noise. I was afraid thinking they may be Maoists. They were armed with knives, pistols and other sharp-edged weapons. They threatened us and locked us all in a room. They warned that they would shoot us if we dared reveal about it or shout for help,” said an eye-witness.
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When contacted, Daspalla Ranger said, “We got information at around 2am in the night that some miscreants barged into the godown. They threatened our workers and took away bags of kendu leaves. We had stored kendu leaves worth Rs 2 lakh. I have never heard of anything like that before. This is the first such incident in this area.”
Meanwhile, forest department has registered a case in this connection and launched a manhunt to nab the miscreants.
