Hyderabad: The Civil Supplies Department has registered 11 FIRs against 18 trading entities following raids on retail and wholesale rice establishments in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts between October 29 and 31 for alleged irregularities including weight manipulation, price violations and illegal diversion of Public Distribution System (PDS) rice.
The Enforcement Task Force (ETF), in coordination with the Legal Metrology Department, conducted surprise inspections across the two districts.
During the raids, officials found traders allegedly selling 25 kg rice bags with labels indicating 26 kg. They also detected instances of inflated price stickers being pasted over the manufacturers' original printed rates.
The inspections further revealed that some traders were operating without mandatory Trade, GST, Labour and FSSAI licences. Officials also detected alleged illegal diversion and hoarding of PDS rice.
Officials said that the enforcement teams documented the violations through videography and photography to strengthen the legal proceedings. The 11 FIRs were registered at Saroornagar, Jeedimetla and Alwal police stations against the alleged offenders.
The accused traders will face prosecution under the Essential Commodities Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), with provisions carrying imprisonment of up to seven years, Officials said.
The department said it would continue enforcement measures to prevent consumer exploitation and ensure the fair distribution of essential commodities.