The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has busted a racket where rice grain meant to be supplied to government schools under the midday meal scheme was being sold to grocers instead.
According to Crime Branch sources, Unit VII officers received a tip-off about the racket on Monday evening. A team raided Ambika Dhanya Bhandaar in Vikhroli and seized 1,187.5 kg of rice kept in 25 gunny sacks.
Shop owner Chintan Gusai (24), when questioned about the source of the rice, said he had bought it from Shreya Industrial Products Cooperative Trust in Hanuman Nagar in Vikhroli a few days ago.
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“Acting on this information, we went to the office of the Trust and confirmed that it gets rice at subsidised rates from the government to supply to State-run schools for use in midday meals. However, the Trust was selling the rice at market rate and making huge profits from the sales,” a Crime Branch officer said.
The officer said while the Trust sold the rice to Mr. Gusai last week for the first time, it is suspected to have been running the racket for a longer period.
The Crime Branch handed over Mr. Gusai, Trust manager Chandrakant Panaskar and trustee Sangeeta Panaskar to the Parksite police station, along with the seized rice.
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“We are examining the records of the Trust. We are also making inquiries with the schools that the Trust was supplying the rice to so that we can get a better sense of how long the racket has been running, and how much rice the Trust has sold in the black market. We are also finding out how many other grocers the Trust has sold the rice to, and whether there is anyone else involved in the racket,” an officer with the Vikhroli police said.
The trio has been booked for cheating under the Indian Penal Code and is being questioned. The police said no arrests have been made yet as inquiries remain to be completed.