Revenue officials confiscated 63,575 kg of rice, stuffed in 3,183 bags and carried in five lorries, in Krishnagiri district on Sunday morning. Initially, officials maintained that the seized rice was that of the public distribution system (PDS), but later said samples were sent for laboratory tests at the Tamilnadu Civil Supplies Corporation in Chennai, Dharmapuri and Villupuram to ascertain the quality.
District Revenue Officer A. Shanmugasundaram said that on a tip-off received on Saturday night, two teams of officials were formed to intensify vehicle checks on Theertham Road and Varatannapalli Road near the Karnataka border.
One of them stopped the five lorries near the Neralagiri checkpost on Theertham Road and seized the rice. Officials said the PDS value of the seized rice would be over Rs. 7 lakh.
It may be recalled that a crack down on the PDS shops in the last fortnight had yielded good results. Seven salesmen were suspended and 46 bogus ration cards seized in Kelamangalam block by the authorities in the period.
District Collector Mr. V.K. Shanmugam has warned the erring PDS employees of criminal action besides dismissal from service.
