Officers involved in illegal storage of rice in Gurmitkal should also be booked, say activists

Several activists and Banjara association office-bearers have demanded that the State government order a high-level inquiry into a case of illegally stored rice being seized from two mills in Gurmitkal recently.

Addressing a joint press conference, president of the district Banjara Seva Sangha Bangaru Rathod, pro-Kannada activists Beeresh Chiratenore, Mallikarjun Jolleppanavar and Vijay Kumar Mogdampur and Kashinath Rathod of the Sant Sevalal Maharaj Banjara Trust said that officers of various government departments raided two mills and seized illegally stored rice in Gurmitkal recently.

The officials then said that they seized 2,000 quintals of rice meant to be distributed to beneficiaries under a government scheme, they said and added that the seized rice, however, does not seem to belong to any government scheme.

They further said that a case has been registered only against Narendra Rathod and three others, while the officers of the government departments concerned have been spared.

How is it possible to store such quantity of rice without the knowledge of the officers involved? they asked and said that the State government should order a high-level inquiry to ascertain the role of the officers concerned in it.

They warned that they will intensify their protest if the State government does not bring the officers involved to book, holding them also responsible for the entire episode. The State government should ensure that rice meant for poor people reaches them effectively, they added.