Sambalpur, Aug. 24: Police and the supply department seized 416 bags of rice from a godown of a businessman in Khetrajpur on Tuesday night.

The rice was meant for public distribution for people living below poverty line in the Reamal block of Deogarh district, said Harihara Sahu, sub-collector of Sambalpur.

According to information from the supply department at Sambalpur, a truck lifted 300 bags of rice from FCI Godown at Hirakud to transport it to Reamal. The rice belonged to Surama Das, a storage agent in Reamal. But instead of going to Deogarh, it unloaded its entire contents at the godown of Harishan Agrawal alias Pintu at Khetrajpur inside Sambalpur city in the late hours of Tuesday night.

Acting on a tip-off, the police and senior officials of the district administration seized the entire contents .

After taking the final stock of the godown, the police found the illegal transaction in the godown and arrested its owner Harishan Agrawal, Ghasiram Mallick an agent and Saik Samim the driver of the truck.

The police also seized 160 bags from the old stock rice from Agrawal?s possession as he could not provide an explanation for them.