Paralakhemundi: The district headquarters town of Paralakhemundi in Gajapati district has turned into a safe haven for the miscreants involved in the smuggling of gold ornaments from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, according to a report.
The miscreants decamp with gold ornaments from the households, commuters and several jewellery stores in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and escape to the town here to sell the precious ornaments to local goldsmiths or jewellery stores.
The claim is not unfounded as Andhra and Telangana police have raided around 10 jewellery shops in the town during the last year and seized the ornaments with the help of some of the accused in their custody. At a time when police from other states raiding the stores and picking up the accused traders is nothing new, it was often noticed that Paralakhemundi police have no inkling of the raids and verification of the jewellery stores conducted by the cops from Andhra and Telangana. The issue shot into prominence again when a five-member team of Telangana police was found moving in Paralakhemundi town, Saturday. The team, while moving, suddenly entered the jewellery shop of P Ashok Kumar here and scanned some old gold ornaments. Kumar tried to reason with Telangana police when Paralakhemundi police were informed about their arrival. Left with no option, Telangana police team visited Paralakhemundi police station and explained the purpose of their visit. The prime accused in the theft of gold ornaments was also accompanying the Telangana police during their visit.
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According to the accused, Telangana police had seized around 30 gram gold from the store. However, neither the Telangana police nor the local police registers any case against the shop owner. This has sent the chatters abuzz in the town while many have questioned how a police team from outside the state visit the town, conduct probe and seize the stolen gold ornaments without the knowledge of the local police. They alleged that this explains how the police teams from outside the state give importance to the local police.
Confirming the development, Paralakhemundi police station inspector in-charge Prasant Bhupati said Telangana police had indeed come for verification of the jewellery store. They have been asked to report to the local police ahead of their future visits, he added.