Rs 10k crore 'rice scam': Millers move Telangana HC with pleas to quash FIRs

HYDERABAD: Telangana high court is witnessing a spate of petitions by rice millers seeking quashing of recent FIRs against them in the alleged rice scam over the last five years, which civil supplies officials have pegged at around Rs 10,000 crore.
These rice millers have been accused of diverting paddy and rice meant for public distribution system (PDS) to black markets and other states in connivance with officials during BRS govt's term between 2019 and 2023.
The alleged scam was under custom-milled rice (CMR) where the state procured paddy from farmers and gave it to rice mills. For every metric ton of paddy, the millers had to supply specific quantum of boiled rice, raw rice etc., to the state or central pools. But this scheme was widely misused by millers. According to an official estimate, the millers can't account for more than 35 lakh ton of paddy which would amount to around 22 lakh ton rice missing in the state.
Raids by civil supplies officials on various mills that were yet to supply rice to the state found they had no paddy stocks, belying their claim that they were yet to mill the paddy.
For instance, in the case of three rice mills in Nizamabad allegedly owned by associates and family members of BRS' former Bodhan MLA Shakeel Aamir, inspection by officials in Dec revealed that Rs 70 crore worth of CMR belonging to the state govt in these rice mills had gone missing.
T HC restrains police from proceeding against ex-MLA
Officials said the mills of the ex-MLA's family could not explain the missing paddy and rice.
After an FIR was booked against the former MLA - who is currently in Dubai after being embroiled in an accident case involving his son - he approached the HC through a general power of attorney (GPA) holder urging the court to quash the FIR.

The former MLA claimed that he had nothing to do with the milling business or the mills themselves.
On Friday, Justice B Vijaysen Reddy heard the plea and restrained the police from proceeding against Shakeel while directing them to follow the procedure prescribed under CrPC 41-A.
Similarly, in another case, a rice miller Immadi Soma Narsaiah from Suryapet was arrested and sent to jail for diverting paddy meant for PDS. He and his two brothers, who have three rice mills in the district, were given 47 lakh ton paddy and had to supply 31 lakh ton rice to the state, which they did not. The officials found that he had supplied a mere 347 ton of rice till now. Officials estimated that rice worth Rs 240 crore was misused in Suryapet district alone.