Police arrest five and seize 22 tonnes of PDS rice in Gachibowli raid

Five men were arrested and approximately 22 tonnes of Public Distribution System (PDS) rice and two tonnes of wheat were seized on Thursday during a joint raid in Gowlidoddi village, located in the Serilingampally mandal near Gachibowli. The operation, conducted by the Gachibowli police, the Civil Supplies Department, and the State Vigilance Team, targeted premises behind a local government school and an open plot near Jayabheri Apartments.

The authorities acted on a specific tip-off regarding the illegal procurement, storage, and transportation of subsidised government commodities in the area.

The five arrested suspects were identified by police as Mohd. Sami, 27, a businessman from Rajendranagar; Nagesh, 20, a driver from Markundha village in Bidar district, Karnataka; Biru Kumar, 24, also a driver from Bidar district, Karnataka; Md. Mubeen Ahmed Qureshi, 20, a driver from Perla Bowli in Hyderabad’s Old City; and Abdul Neef, 27, a driver from Khajanagar in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad.

During the raid, officials discovered and seized 520 plastic bags of PDS rice, with each bag weighing between 40 kg and 50 kg. The rice bags were found loaded onto a 12-tyre lorry. Additionally, officers found 40 bags of wheat stored in a nearby compound.

A random verification of the seized rice bags by the officials revealed the presence of Fortified Rice Kernels (FRK). This confirmed that the seized stock was indeed meant for distribution to eligible beneficiaries under the Telangana government’s Public Distribution System.

According to the preliminary investigation, the accused were running an illegal racket where they purchased the subsidised PDS rice and wheat from beneficiaries at low prices. They then planned to sell these commodities at much higher rates to secure illegal financial gains.

This operation violated the Telangana State Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2016, along with other applicable laws. In addition to the grain, officials seized five vehicles used in the illegal transport operation, which included the 12-tyre lorry and four goods carriers. Police stated that further investigation is currently underway.