Hyderabad, Oct 25 The Telangana CID has registered three cases over alleged irregularities in Sanna Rakam rice supplies to the FCI during the 2025-26 Kharif season and arrested 14 millers, officials said on Sunday.
Preliminary information indicated that some rice millers had allegedly diverted the Sanna Rakam paddy allotted to them to the open market and supplied cheaper coarse rice, including rice allegedly sourced from outside the state, in its place, a Telangana police release said.
Sanna Rakam refers to fine-variety rice and paddy cultivated extensively in Telangana.
The Telangana government procured 71.86 lakh metric tonnes of paddy during the 2025-26 Kharif season, against a target of 59.60 lakh metric tonnes of rice for delivery to the Food Corporation of India.
Following a complaint lodged by the General Manager (Procurement) of the Civil Supplies Corporation on October 24, the cases were registered, and 14 millers were arrested, the release said.
Inspections by Enforcement and Task Force (ETF) teams, followed by laboratory analysis, revealed that samples of rice supplied in the cases examined did not conform to the Sanna Rakam variety specified in the allotments.
The alleged substitution raised concerns over compliance with the Custom Milled Rice (CMR) agreement and possible financial losses to the government, it said.
In Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Mulugu districts, 16 rice mills reportedly supplied 3,385.820 metric tonnes of ‘Doddu Rakam’ (coarse-variety) rice against Sanna Rakam allotments. The estimated bonus-related loss on these deliveries was approximately Rs 1.69 crore.
A further 45,414.833 metric tonnes had reportedly been allocated for conversion, with the potential bonus-related financial implication estimated at approximately Rs 242 crore. Timely intervention by Civil Supplies authorities and orders halting the process prevented further potential losses, the CID said.
The alleged substitution prima facie indicated violations of the CMR agreement for the 2025-26 Kharif Marketing Season, criminal breach of trust, wrongful gain and conspiracy to cause wrongful loss to the government exchequer, the release said.
The investigation is ongoing to establish the alleged diversion and substitution of rice varieties, determine the roles of the millers concerned, and examine how allotments and conversion requests were processed, the CID said.
It is also gathering documentary, technical and other corroborative evidence to quantify the actual loss and ascertain whether officials or other persons were involved in a criminal conspiracy or other offences.
(PTI News)
