Ganja Smuggler Killed, Aid Injured in Road Mishap in Subarnapur

Subarnapur: One cannabis (ganja) smuggler was killed and his aide sustained critical injury after the scooter they were travelling met with an accident. The duo met with the accident while giving the slip to an Excise raid team at Ulunda locality in Subarnapur district.

The deceased was identified as Pradip Mohanty from Koushalya Vihar of Rourkela. The aide was identified as Pramod Kumar Padhi from Chhend of Rourkela.

According to sources, the accused were on their way to Sonepur from Sambalpur for smuggling cannabis. Sambalpur excise raid team got information from a reliable source that the accused were carrying around 20 kilograms of cannabis them.

Acting on the tip, the excise team chased the duo. However, the accused tried to give the slip and fled from the spot by speeding the scooter. Later, the team informed another Excise team from Ulunda about it. The second team tried to stop the duo leading to the incident.

“The speeding scooter lost its control and hit a stationery Excise vehicle engaged in the raid. The injured Pramod was rescued by the squad personnel and rushed to Burla Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) and admitted to the Casualty Department of the health facility in critical condition for treatment,” a senior official in the squad Nitin Chandra Mandal said.