Four held with PDS rice worth 12 lakh

Hyderabad: Suryapet police on Thursday seized 30 tonnes of public distribution system (PDS) rice being transported illegally from Kodad to Hyderabad and arrested four persons. Four vehicles transporting the stock were seized. The racket was being operated by kingpin Shaik Meerali and the value of the seized PDS rice was around 12 lakh, Suryapet superintendent of police BK Rahul Hegde said. Based on a tip-off, police conducted vehicle checks in Suryapet town and found a truck under suspicious condition. On checking vehicle, cops found PDS rice weighing 20 tonnes. Probe revealed that the vehicle was owned by Meerali and he had procured the rice from Kodad. On Meerali’s confession, police seized three more vehicles from Khammam, which were transporting 10 tonnes of PDS rice. tnn