Bhadradri Kothagudem, Oct.3 : Following instructions from Bhadradri Kothagudem District Superintendent of Police Rohit Raju, IPS, the Dammapet police busted an organized racket involved in the illegal diversion and sale of oil palm fruit bunches, arresting nine persons. The police seized two auto-rickshaws, stolen oil palm bunches, and cash from the accused, while two other suspects remain absconding.
According to the police, the crime came to light during transport operations under Dammapet police station limits. Over the past four months, lorry driver Battina Ramu and tractor drivers Gaddam Mahendra, Keesari Nagaraju, and Nagababu were transporting oil palm fruit bunches from various villages to processing factories in Apparaopeta and Aswaraopeta. En route, they secretly offloaded a portion of the cargo without the knowledge of farm owners or transport supervisors.
Investigation revealed that the stolen produce was gathered by Kanithi Laxminarayana and transported to the Apparaopeta factory using auto-rickshaws driven by Kanithi Shiva and Vanka Chandu. A security guard at the Apparaopeta oil palm factory, Potta Mutyala Rao, was also involved in facilitating the entry, alongside Jakka Balu, Karam Venkatesh, and Ch. Pullarao, who misused their official farmer identification codes (F-Codes) to execute sales and process cash transactions.
The police warned that stealing oil palm fruit, illegally diverting produce, or misusing F-Codes is a serious crime, assuring strict legal action against anyone involved in such fraudulent activities. Aswaraopeta Inspector P. Nagaraju, Dammapet Sub-Inspector Balaswamy, and departmental personnel were recognized for leading the investigation and executing the arrests.
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