KOLAR: Deputy Commissioner K.V. Thrilokchandra has ordered auction of the rice which was illegally transported by a rice mill in Bangarpet a couple of months ago and subsequently seized by authorities.
The Food, Civil Supplies and Consumers Affairs Department officials seized 18,676 quintals of rice at Bangarpet Railway Station on September 14 this year. By the time officials reached the spot, the owners of PRS Rice Mill hadalready lifted 12,260 quintals to their godown.
Raghunath Shetty, mill owner, claimed it had been bought in Chattisgarh through Venkatesh Global Traders in Chennai and submitted bills to this effect. A team of officials visited Chattisgarh to verify the bills and found many of them to be fake, following which Mr. Thrilokchandra slapped a fine of Rs. 2.86 crore.
Mr. Shetty questioned the authority of the Deputy Commissioner to levy the fine in the High Court of Karnataka, which turned down his plea and upheld the fine imposed.
“Bangarpet Tahsildar has been instructed to take suitable action for the auction of the seized rice following the orders of the Deputy Commissioner”, B.P. Devaiah, Deputy Director of Food and Civil Supplies Department, told The Hindu on Tuesday. “The Tahsildar was also directed to recover the fine from the mill owner”, he added.
The auction of seized rice as well as imposing of fine for illegal transportation is said to be the first action of its kind though rice was seized on many occasions in the past.
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