Patna: The office of Samrat Choudhary has rejected allegations that an official from the deputy chief minister’s office forcibly took LPG cylinders from a gas agency warehouse in Patna, describing the claims circulating on social media as “baseless and misleading”.
The controversy emerged after the proprietor of a gas agency in the city’s Gardanibagh area alleged that a sub-divisional officer (SDO), purportedly sent from the deputy chief minister’s office, arrived at the warehouse and demanded 15 LPG cylinders. According to the proprietor, he handed over the warehouse keys to the official, who found only four filled cylinders inside and took them away.
The claim gained traction after a video of the proprietor describing the incident went viral on social media, prompting public reactions and raising questions about the alleged use of official influence to obtain cooking gas during a period of high demand.
In a statement issued on Friday, the deputy chief minister’s private secretary, Shailendra Kumar Ojha, categorically denied the allegations. Ojha said reports suggesting that the deputy chief minister’s office had ordered or taken LPG cylinders from a gas agency warehouse were entirely unfounded.
He also clarified that there is no position designated as “SDO” within the deputy chief minister’s office, dismissing the claim that such an official could have acted on its behalf.
Ojha urged the public not to rely on unverified information circulating online and appealed to people to verify facts before sharing such claims.
The deputy chief minister’s office said the matter would be examined to establish the facts and identify those responsible for spreading rumours.
