Cases against four owners of rice mill for diversion of paddy in Asifabad

Four owners of a rice mill in Kumram Bheem Asifabad were booked for allegedly diverting government paddy meant for custom milling. Officials found large-scale irregularities worth crores, marking a repeat offence, with investigations underway following a complaint by authorities

Kumram Bheem Asifabad: Cases were booked against four owners of a rice mill on charges of  diverting paddy handed by the government for custom rice milling process (CMR) at Venkatraopet village on Monday. This is the second such offence committed by the owners in a gap of two years.

Police said that a case was registered against Renikuntla Padmaja, Budha Madhuri, Renikuntla Shiva Kumar and Budda Manish, all from Sirpur (T) town and owners of Sri Sai Balaji Agro Tech Rice Mill for their role in the alleged diversion of 1825.744 metric tonnes of paddy and a fine variety of 2,702 metric tonnes of paddy worth Rs 6.91 crore.

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During an inquiry conducted by officials of Telangana State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited, the four were found to have minted Rs 3.8 crore by selling the CMR grain for poultry feed and personal needs. Accordingly, the officials lodged a complaint with the police. A was booked against the four and investigations were taken up.

In 2024, sleuths of both Vigilance and Enforcement inspected a  Sai Balaji Agro Rice Mill and found that over 69,394 bags of paddy grains were swindled at Venkatraopet village in Sirpur (T) mandal on February 27. The value of the grains was assessed to be Rs 5.90 crore.