Bhubaneswar/Cuttack, Jan 15 (TNN): The Odisha vigilance department raided a gas agency owned by petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan's elder brother Soumendra in Angul district on Saturday.

The raid comes close on the heels of CBI raids at the homes of some BJD members and an aide of chief minister Naveen Patnaik in connection with the Seashore Group chit fund scam.

Sources said Pradhan's was the only gas agency raided over suspicions that it was involved in black marketing, though the vigilance team in association with civil supplies department conducted checks at several petrol pumps across Odisha for suspected adulteration.

BJP state vice-president Sameer Mohanty said the party has reasons to believe BJD was targeting Dharmendra. "Following the CBI raids on Thursday, BJD workers burnt his effigy in front of the CBI office, even though the Union minister had nothing to do with the agency's action," Mohanty said.

To drive home the point of misuse of state vigilance by the Patnaik government, BJP member Prithviraj Harichandan said: "The BJD government had earlier misused the state vigilance by slapping a false case against former DGP Prakash Mishra in September 2014 after unceremoniously removing him from the post of top cop in July that year. The case was later quashed by the Orissa high court in June 2015."

Pradhan could not be contacted for his comments. One of his associates said he was travelling in Uttar Pradesh. Director general (vigilance), Rajendra Prasad Sharma, however, claimed the raid was not politically motivated.