more-in MADURAI A total of 850 kg of rice meant for public distribution through ration shops was seized by Madurai north tahsildar office during a raid near Karuppayurani here on Tuesday. Officials spotted men loading ration rice bags on carts and transporting them to a private household in a nearby street. Tahsildar G. Saravanaperumal, who conducted the raid, said, “We were doing our routine checks when we spotted men carrying huge loads of rice to a house. The quantity seemed more than the average 20 kg, a family receives (5kg for each individual). The men lied to us about taking it to their house. When we enquired, we realised that the house was a godown, where a small-scale businessman made batter for idly and dosa,” he said. The tahsildar added that the offender Zakir Hussain had been illegally purchasing ration rice from cardholders for many months now. They also seized 20 kg of sugar, 10 kg of toor dal and eight packets of palm oil from the spot. Officials from the district administration said that since the seizure was below 1,000 kg, the individual had been warned. “We will keep a close watch on him and the ration rice shop henceforth,” he said. Similar such incidents had taken place earlier this year in Othakadai and Paravai area too, said the tahsildar. He added that the PDS network was large and that there were a few sustainable measures to prevent such activities. Regular raids and vigilance would continue, he said.

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