VIJAYAWADA: Krishna district police arrested Manasa Teja, the second accused in the case of missing Public Distribution System (PDS) rice from a buffer godown owned by Jayasudha, wife of former minister Perni Venkataramaih, also known as Nani. Manasa Teja is also the manager of Perni Nani.
Machilipatnam police had earlier registered a case against Jayasudha based on a complaint by Civil Supplies Department officer Kotireddy, who alleged irregularities in the storage of 248 tonnes of ration rice. The warehouse in Potlapalem village, which is under the supervision of Perni Nani and his son Krishna Murthy alias Kittu, was registered in his wife’s name and was later rented to the Civil Supplies Department as a buffer godown.
During a recent inspection, authorities discovered that 7,577 bags of PDS rice stored in the godown were missing. Summons were issued to the prime accused, Jayasudha, along with Nani and his son Krishna Murthy, for questioning regarding the missing rice.
While Jayasudha is absconding, Nani and Kittu have failed to appear before investigators. Krishna District Superintendent of Police (SP) R Gangadhar confirmed that fresh notices would be served to Nani and Kittu.
“As Nani and Kittu used to manage the warehouse, we are confident that further questioning will shed light on the missing 248 tonnes of PDS rice,” the SP stated.
Sources revealed that Manasa Teja, A2, is currently under interrogation but has not been cooperating with investigators.