Chamba police bust cement theft racket

The police in Tissa of Churah subdivision in Chamba have caught a truck involved in thesuspected illegal sale of cement meant for government-funded development projects in a panchayat. It was found parked outside a private store, where the cement was believed illegally sold.

According to the police, a team was conducting an inspection in Tissa when they discovered the truck loaded with cement. The driver, identified as Mosamdin, failed to produce valid documentation proving the legitimacy of the cement’s transport. He only presented a gate pass from the Civil Supplies Corporation, Tissa, issued on January 31.

Further investigation at the Civil Supplies Corporation revealed that while the gate pass was issued on January 31, the bill for the cement was only generated on February 1, raising suspicions of foul play.

Further investigation revealed that the truck was supposed to transport 276 bags of cement, valued at Rs 1,46,280, to Sanwal gram panchayat. However, the cement was offloaded nearly 3km away from its designated location, near Tissa on Chamba road. The police suspect that panchayat pradhan Mohan Lal and truck owner Kewal Krishna attempted to misappropriate government cement for personal gain by offloading it in an unauthorised location. The police have registered a case under provisions of the BNS.