15.95 tonnes of ration rice, 4.6 tonnes of wheat seized

Ration rice and wheat seized near Iravathanallur in Madurai on Tuesday.

Madurai

Madurai unit of Civil Supplies – Criminal Investigation Department on Tuesday seized 15.95 tonnes of ration rice and 4.6 tonnes of ration wheat stealthily stocked in a shed near Iravathanallur.

The sleuths have arrested the shed owner, S. Muthu alias ‘Gorilla’ Muthu (43) of Mela Anupanandi and are on the lookout for three salesmen of ration shops in Usilampatti area.

Acting on a tip-off, CS-CID sleuths, led by Deputy Superintendent of Police, Elangovan, and Inspector of Police, M. Prem Anand, raided the shed near Sunnambu Kalavasal past midnight of Monday. They found that ration rice in 319 bags, including 200 bags that had tag of Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Department.

Besides, the rice were also kept in 119 plastic bags. The 4.6 tonnes of wheat were kept in 92 bags.

The sleuths said that the tags on the ration shop bags revealed that the rice were not collected from beneficiaries of public distribution system, but had been smuggled directly from the ration shops.

Interrogation of the accused Muthu, who is history-sheeter, revealed that the goods had been taken with the help of salespersons of three ration shops in Usilampatti area.

The CS-CID have booked Muthu along with salespersons, identified as Maharajan, Mani and Palani under provisions of Tamil Nadu Scheduled Commodities (Regulation of Distribution by Card System).