Hyderabad rice hoarding allegations have led to criminal cases against six businessmen after civil supplies officials inspected 20 wholesale outlets and reportedly found hundreds of quintals of rice stored in rear godowns behind retail shops. Authorities said the stock included rice diverted from the Public Distribution System and would be released into the market shortly.
The inspections took place a day before the cases were registered. Officials found that the businesses operated retail stores at the front while maintaining large storage facilities at the rear, according to the report. The exact quantity of rice recovered is still being assessed.
K Ram Kumar, a superintendent of police-rank officer attached to the civil supplies department, said the stock had been hoarded to inflate prices as part of a suspected syndicate. “Hundreds of quintals of rice were found hoarded, and the stock will be released into the market shortly,” he said.
During a preliminary inquiry, officials said they identified part of the stock as Public Distribution System rice. The civil supplies department’s in-house laboratory conducted tests that officials said confirmed the rice was sourced from the PDS system. The identification is significant because PDS grain is intended for distribution through the public food-supply network rather than resale in the open market.
The inquiry has also expanded to rice mills. Officials said some of the businessmen booked in the case owned rice mills, and investigators were examining whether millers diverted rice supplied under the state’s procurement and processing arrangements. Police officials attached to the civil supplies department said an earlier investigation had found some mills empty even after millers had received paddy with an expectation that they would return 65% of the quantity as rice.
The officials said they suspected that the missing rice had been diverted to the open market, but added that the investigation remains underway. The available account does not establish the final quantity allegedly diverted or the role of each of the six businessmen and mill owners.
Saroornagar police registered the first information reports against the six businessmen for illegal hoarding following the inspections. Separate cases were also registered against others over alleged Goods and Services Tax violations and claims that rice quantities were misrepresented to customers.
No arrests had been made when the report was published. Saroornagar police are continuing the inquiry, while civil supplies officials are assessing the recovered stock and preparing to release it into the market. The investigation will determine the quantity involved, how the rice moved through the supply chain and whether further action is required against additional traders or millers.
