By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: The 2005 batch Odisha cadre IPS Officer, Jai Narayan Pankaj, who holds as many as 3 important posts including DIG, STF and additional charge as DIG, Economic Office Wing of Crime Branch, and DIG, Rourkela headquarters, Western Police Range, seems in no mode to let off wildlife criminals and drug mafias , who made this eastern State as a safe heaven.
Both drug mafias and wildlife criminals are now on with DIG Pankaj led onslaught increasing arrest figure day by day. STF sources said, since DIG Pankaj, hailing from Bihar, personally supervising each operations in close coordination with local police of various districts, arrest and seizer have drastically increased in recent years. Since 2020, till date, near about 70 wildlife criminals have been arrested, STF sources said.
“Since 2020, STF has seized as many as 27 Nos. of leopard skin, 18 Nos. of elephant task, 7 Nos. of deer skins, 13 Nos. of live pangolin, 30 kg 400 gm of pangolin scales, 2 Nos. of leopard teeth, 29 Nos. of leopard claws, 46 Nos. of live wild parrot with arrest of 66 Nos. of wildlife criminals,” STF said. Special drive against the drug mafias, wildlife criminals/poachers is continuing, STF sources added.
Recently, hard-core absconding interstate drug trafficker namely Thyil Shyam Sunder @ Kajabai S/o. T Krishnaiah and hardcore absconding drug peddler namely Sk Jamshed @ Jamal S/o. Sk Mamtaj was arrested due to pro-active role of DIG Pankaj, sources said.
A convicted drug peddler Azad Parvez was recently again arrested by NCB in Guwahati in Assam while Odisha STF official also had gone to Guwahati for the joint interrogation. Md. Azad Pervez was convicted in NCB Kolkata PS Case No. 01/1993 U/S 20 (B)/24/28 NDPS Act and sentenced for imprisonment of 10 years and was at Dhenkanal Jail. He was released from Jail after imprisonment in the year 2014. Presently the accused has been arrested in NCB Guwahati PS case No. 10 dtd 10.04.2022 U/S 8 (C)/21 (C) / 29 NDPS Act in exclusive possession of 1.045 Kg of Brown Sugar and forwarded to Hon’ble Court of Kamrup, Guwahati, Assam.
