A bus driver and conductor of Andhra Pradesh State Roadway Transport Corporation (APSTRC) were arrested by police attached to Vellore unit of the CID-Food Cell on Tuesday, for transporting smuggled ration rice from Tirupattur, in Vellore district, to Mallanur, in Chittoor district of AP. Police also seized the bus and 1.5 tonnes of PDS rice.
Following the direction from Additional Director General of Police (Food Cell) T Radhakrishnan, a five-member team attached to Vellore unit of CID-Food Cell conducted a vehicle check at Nayanaseruyu, near Natrampalli, on Tuesday morning. Twenty-eight bags of ration rice, each weighing 50 kg, were found in the bus.
On enquiring the driver of the bus R Subramani (27) of Chittoor and conductor K Suresh Kumar (42) of Kothakotta village in Madhanapalli taluk in AP, the police found that the rice bags were loaded in Tirupattur and were being transported to Mallanur in Chittoor district.
The duo later admitted that that they had been paid between Rs 10 and Rs 20 per bag for transporting the PDS rice in the bus.
“We are investigating the case to find the source and its destination of the smuggled rice to arrest all the persons involved,” inspector of police, CID-Food Cell, Jagadesan said. The police have registered cases against the duo.