Police have arrested three persons, including a former DMK councillor, in connection with the smuggling of 880 kgs of rice meant for distribution of ration.
The government has been providing free rice for the people through the Public Distribution Scheme. With the lockdown in force due to COVID19, the Tamil Nadu government has been giving an additional 5 kg per person to all rice cardholders for 3 months.
On receiving complaints of irregularities, the police raided the ration shop at Ammanpettai near Thanjavur. In this, a flour mill owner and ex-councillor belonging to the DMK Ashok Kumar, was caught along with the ration shop in-charge Shankar and a goods auto driver Babu.
It was reported that 18 bags of rice that approximates to nearly 880 kgs were recovered.