Perni Nani’s wife questioned in PDS rice diversion case

Vijayawada: Police questioned Perni Jayasudha, wife of YSRCP leader and former minister Perni Nani, in connection with PDS rice diversion case. Jayasudha appeared at Bandar Taluka police station on Wednesday afternoon, accompanied by her counsel. She was questioned by circle inspector Yesu Babu who sought details on the alleged irregularities in ration rice stocks. Jayasudha has been named as the main accused in the case.Nani constructed warehouses near Potlapalem in Bandar mandal in his wife's name, which were used to store buffer stocks of ration rice. During a routine inspection by the civil supplies dept, discrepancies were found between the records and the actual stock in the warehouses. A subsequent audit found a significant shortfall of thousands of rice bags, prompting the issuance of notices to Jayasudha. Nani initially claimed that the discrepancies arose due to issues with the weighbridge. However, when the extent of the missing rice became apparent, Jayasudha expressed willingness to compensate the govt. She subsequently paid Rs 1.7 crore through a demand draft to cover the shortfall.Later, joint collector Geetanjali Sharma conducted another inspection, during which it was found that more rice bags were missing. She issued further notices to Jayasudha for the newly identified discrepancies. With the stage set for Jayasudha's arrest, she approached the district court which granted her anticipatory bail on the condition that she cooperate with police investigation. Abiding by the court's directive, Jayasudha appeared for questioning along with her legal counsel. It is suspected that some of the missing rice bags may have been smuggled out of the country through Kakinada port.