Rice meant for Fani-affected victims 'embezzled' in Cuttack

Cuttack: Amid ongoing relief work post Cyclone Fani, an incident today came to fore from Bilipada village under Banki police limits of the district where locals detained a pick-up van transporting over 10 quintals of rice reportedly meant for the cyclone-affected victims.

Alleging embezzlement of the rice bags, they alleged that the Zilla Parishad member of Bilipada village, instead of distributing the relief rice to the beneficiaries, was trying to sell them.

On further checking, the villagers found that the name of Odisha State Supply Corporation was printed on all the rice bags.

"The rice has been provided by the government for relief and meant for cyclone-affected people. It is so disturbing to see that people are deprived of relief because of such embezzlement," alleged a local.

While the driver managed to flee, the villages seized all the rice bags and have handed those over to police for investigation, sources said.