ADILABAD: Khanapur police have registered a case against former Khanapur MLA Ajmeera Rekha Naik, the proprietor of ARS Industries at Sattenpally in Khanapur mandal, after Civil Supplies officials found a shortage of 9,639.962 metric tonnes (MT) of government paddy allotted to the rice mill under the Custom Milled Rice (CMR) agreements.
The shortage has been valued at `40.96 crore at the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
According to the complaint lodged by Civil Supplies officials, ARS Industries (Mill Code No. 175825) had agreements with the government for the Rabi seasons of 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25. During a physical inspection of the mill premises and records, officials found that the required quantity of CMR had not been delivered to the government and that the corresponding paddy or rice was not available at the mill or its godowns.
For Rabi 2022-23, the mill was allotted 6,821.640 MT of paddy and was required to deliver 4,638.715 MT of CMR. Against this, only 831.071 MT had been delivered. Officials said 5,482.96 MT of the paddy that should have been available could not be accounted for.
In Rabi 2023-24, the mill received 7,430.840 MT of paddy and was required to deliver 5,052.971 MT of CMR. It had delivered 3,205.269 MT, leaving 2,717.209 MT of paddy to be accounted for.
For Rabi 2024-25, the mill was allotted 2,413.640 MT of paddy and was required to deliver 1,641.275 MT of CMR. Only 343.200 MT had been delivered. Officials found 469.117 MT of paddy at the premises, while no rice was available. Based on the complaint, police registered a case under Sections 316(2), 316(5) and 318(4) of the BNS and Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act.
Rekha Naik and her husband, Ajmeera Shyam Naik, joined the Congress from the BRS before the 2023 Assembly elections. TNIE’s attempts to contact Shyam Naik for a response went unanswered.