An internal probe by the Uttar Pradesh government has found that the public distribution system (PDS) ration shop owners misused Aadhaar cards over 1.80 lakh times to pilfer food meant for the poor, reported The Times of India.
These ration shop owners distributed the food meant for the poor in the open market at higher prices, despite taking subsidies from the government.
Speaking to DNA, Food Commissioner Alok Kumar said, “Orders have been issued to register FIRs against PDS shop owners involved in the ration scam.”
He also added that many PDS shops are under the scanner and licences of those found guilty will be cancelled.
Modus Operandi
The ration shop owners changed the Aadhaar card numbers of the ration card-holders in the point of sale machine. The authorities were alerted when the ration card-holders complained that they were not receiving their due rations from the shops.
According to the DNA report, the investigation revealed that the highest fraudulent transactions happened in Allahabad – where as many as 107 ration cards were used 37,574 times to pilfer rations – followed by Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad and Noida.
(With inputs from DNA and The Times of India)
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