Kakinada District Joint Collector and Additional District Magistrate S. Ilakkiya stated that legal action has been initiated against four persons for procuring rice supplied through the Public Distribution System (PDS) during a special court held here on Saturday.
The four accused have been identified as Palepu Satyavathi, Magani Srinivas, N. Nooka Venkata Lakshmi Ganapathi and Nagulapalli Bujji.
According to an official release issued by Ms. Ilakkiya, the four accused have reportedly procured rice worth ₹6.72 lakh from the PDS beneficiaries. Recently, the accused have been caught while transporting the procured PDS rice. The rice seized in the case was handed over to the authorities concerned.
The police have also registered cases against the four key accused.
“A fine of ₹90,000 has been imposed on two owners of the two vehicles in which the rice was transported. The accused have been identified as M. Srinivas and N. Bujji Srinivas,” said Ms. Ilakkiya.
The Joint Collector has warned to cancel the PDS ration cards if the beneficiaries are found selling the commodities and rice to middlemen.
