Ex-municipality chairman among five held

JHARSUGUDA: Lakhanpur police on Wednesday night arrested five persons including former chairman of Brajrajnagar municipality Kishor Agarwal for allegedly extorting money from truck drivers loading coal at Lakhanpur opencast mines.

Apart from prime accused Agarwal (65) of Lamtibahal, his associates Stifen Paramanik, Amarendar Singh, Sujit Kerketta and Sashi Dhar Chouhan were arrested under sections 296, 308 (6), and 61 (2) of BNS. The arrests were made on basis of a complaint filed by one Sunny Ram (36), a truck driver of Simdega in Jharkhand, alleging coercion and threats by the accused.

Ram filed the complaint on June 18 alleging that the accused demanded Rs 145 per truckload to affix a seal on loading slips, essential for issuing challans. The driver claimed he was transporting coal in his truck when Singh and two of his associates approached him and demanded money. When he refused, they reportedly manhandled him and threatened him with dire consequences. The accused also warned that his truck would be blacklisted if he did not pay.

Ram further said the three accused claimed to be operating under Agarwal’s instructions and boasted of high-profile connections. Fearing retribution, the driver paid the amount, and a seal marked ‘LSS’ was placed on his loading slip.

Brajrajnagar SDPO Chintamani Pradhan said basing on the complaint, police registered a case and started investigation. Subsequently, the five accused were arrested and produced in court.

Sources said around 400 to 500 trucks, each carrying 17 to 18 tonne of coal, are dispatched daily from Lakhanpur opencast mines to various industries like Vedanta, JSW, BPSL and Hindalco.

Agarwal, who owns IB Valley transport, allegedly collected Rs 5 per tonne of coal from transporters. He had secured a tender of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) at 99 per cent discount to load 400–500 trucks daily at Lakhanpur mines using his payloaders. The illegal collection of money was going on for years.