The Civil Supplies-CID of the Tamil Nadu police has said it has been taking stringent action against those smuggling and hoarding rice and other commodities meant for the public distribution system and ensuring that these items reach the beneficiaries without pilferage.
On Monday, the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu, wrote to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, stating that the PDS rice from Tamil Nadu was being smuggled to Andhra Pradesh. It was being polished at the mills in Andhra Pradesh and then sent to the open market or other States like Karnataka. Mr. Naidu mentioned the suspected routes of smuggling and requested Mr. Stalin to act against the smugglers.
In a press release, the Civil Supplies-CID said its units along the State’s borders were performing well, especially along Tamil Nadu’s border with Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka. They were taking stringent action against the smugglers and the hoarders and conducting checks and raids in the border areas.
From May 2021 to April 2022, 937 cases were registered at the Civil Supplies-CID units near the border with Andhra Pradesh. Approximately 12,540.87 quintals of PDS rice, valued at ₹70.85 lakh, was seized. Further, 211 vehicles, which were involved in the smuggling, were seized. As many as 836 accused were arrested, and 23 notorious offenders were arrested under the Prevention of Blackmarketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act.
The Civil Supplies-CID units along the border with Andhra Pradesh performed well from May 2021 to April 2022 in all parameters. Checks and raids have been intensified along the suspected routes which are mentioned in the letter. Special teams have been formed, and they are headed by the Deputy Superintendents of Police, Chennai, Vellore, Salem and Villupuram ranges of the Civil Supplies-CID.
Steps are being taken to eradicate the smuggling of PDS rice to the neighbouring State. The Superintendent of Police, Chennai Zone, and the Deputy Superintendents of Police of the Civil Supplies-CID sub-divisions have been instructed to conduct special raids along the suspected routes and ensure that not even a kilogram of PDS rice is smuggled to Andhra Pradesh. It is also proposed to install cameras along the suspected routes to record the vehicles which are crossing the border, said Abhash Kumar, DGP, Civil Supplies-CID.
