PDS rice diversion mafia busted in Kothagudem, several booked

Officials busted a major PDS rice diversion racket in Kothagudem involving GCC MLS point staff, contractors and fair price shop dealers. Fake entries were made to divert 600 bags of rice to the black market. Several persons were booked under BNS and Essential Commodities Act

Kothagudem: In a classic case of fence eating the crop, the Girijan Cooperative Corporation (GCC) mandal level stock (MLS) point staff colluded with PDS rice mafia and diverted fine rice meant for distribution in ration shops.

Speaking to the media here on Friday, Additional Collector D Venugopal said that based on reliable information about PDS rice smuggling in the district, Telangana State Vigilance Task Force and Civil Supplies Corporation officials kept surveillance at the GCC MLS point at Paloncha on December 2.

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The officials found that Prasanth, an assistant to stage I contractor N Srinivas, brought truck chits related to a PDS rice consignment to the stock point, where in-charge Satyavathi and data entry operator Banoth Krishna Kumar made fake entries in the documents and sent it back.

The staff made entries in their records without actually receiving 600 bags of PDS rice weighing 300 quintals and diverted the rice to the black market. The truck carrying the rice was parked in an isolated place at Mallaram near Manuguru, from where the truck’s GPS tracking system was removed and brought to the stock point on a motorbike to show that the truck had reached the stock point, Venugopal said.

The officials later traced the truck at Nakiripet in Burgampahad mandal. The truck’s driver cum owner Anil Kumar told officials he was hired by Ramya Rice Traders owner Narahari to transport rice to his mill at Manuguru.

When stage I contractor Srinivas of Kodad in Suryapet, who acts on behalf of his wife N Saroja, was caught, he confessed to supplying CMR rice to Narahari by diverting PDS rice. He received Rs 50,000 per truck load.

Further, Satyavathi and Krishna Kumar confessed that they received Rs 20,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively for each truck load by making fake entries, while Prasanth received Rs 10,000 for the same.

The stock point staff revealed that they made fake entries under pressure from fair price shop dealers N Rajaiah, Ramesh Rathi, K Srinivas Rao, K Chandram, D Kali, A Laxmi Devi, P Sreekanth and B Bhadramma with the help of hamali Nagaraju.

Cases under Sections 316(5) (Criminal breach of trust), 324(3) (Mischief causing loss to government), 318(5) (Cheating) and 61(2) (Criminal conspiracy) of BNS were booked against the accused along with the Essential Commodities Act 1955 and Telangana State Public Distribution System (Control) Order 2016.

DCO Prem Kumar, Civil Supplies Manager Trinath Babu and OSD Anjaiah were present.