Civil supplies CID seizes 19,500 kg of PDS rice near Coimbatore, arrests two men

The civil supplies crime investigation department (civil supplies CID) has arrested two men for illegally storing PDS (public distribution system) rice in Othakalmandapam in Coimbatore district. Police seized 19.5 tonne of PDS rice from them.
Acting on reliable intelligence regarding the illegal diversion of govt-issued rice, a special team led by inspector K Muralidharan and sub-inspector S Karthik conducted a search at Royal J Sales Corporation on the Palladam Road on Tuesday. During the search, they found a massive cache of rice meant for the Tamil Nadu govt’s Ramzan festival distribution.
Police found 17,750 kg of rice loaded on a truck and 1,750 kg of rice hoarded on the premises of the flour mill. Following this, police arrested H Nasir Mohammed, 58, a merchant in South Ukkadam, and L Jayaraj, the proprietor of Royal J Sales Corporation.
According to police, Nasir Mohammed used fake documents to obtain PDS rice from the state govt that was meant for the Ramzan festival. He diverted it to Jayaraj’s flour mill. Jayaraj allegedly purchased the subsidized rice to process it for commercial gain. It was reportedly being ground into rice flour to be sold in the open market at higher prices.

The duo were remanded them in judicial custody on Wednesday.

This article has been republished from The Times of India