Illegal trade of rotten wheat under 'election urgent' cover in Kerala
Ration shop owners decided not to take the grain after images of the vehicles parked over a heap of wheat was circulated in their group.
Ration shop owners decided not to take the grain after images of the vehicles parked over a heap of wheat was circulated in their group.
Ration shop owners decided not to take the grain after images of the vehicles parked over a heap of wheat was circulated in their group.
Thrissur: Election season is unlike other times in the country as frenetic activity is seen in towns and villages across the country. Law enforcement agencies are on the edge and public, politicians and vehicles come under intense scrutiny. Criminals may still try to outsmart intense policing as happened when a commodity warehouse made a bid to ferry inedible wheat from its godown in Kerala's Thrissur district by dangling an ‘election urgent’ board on trucks. However, the attempt was foiled after images of the stationary vehicles spread on WhatsApp.
The incident happened in a temporary godown in Chittiserry. Though no goods are moved on Sundays, 1,000 sacks of wheat were loaded onto five trucks. Sacks broken into by rats too were loaded onto them.
Two of the five trucks had ‘election urgent’ tags on their windshield. When their images spread on WhatsApp and it was realised that an illegal act was going on, those behind the transportation changed tactics soon and claimed the wheat was being taken to ration shops.
However, ration shop owners decided not to take the grain after images of the vehicles parked over a heap of wheat was circulated in their group.
The vehicles loaded with wheat have been parked on the godown premises after ration store owners said they received no instruction to open their outlets on Sunday. They have also decided not to receive the load since they are not fit for consumption.
It was later found that orders to weigh goods before loading was also floundered. Illegal workers were used for this.
In poll season, it is common to spot vehicles bearing stickers of 'election duty' or ‘election urgent’ so that these vehicles get the right of way to carry on with official tasks unhindered on roads.
Godown’s explanation
The people running the godown claimed that there was a government order to evacuate goods from there as that was the only way to clean up the godown.
The wheat was loaded onto trucks as per this order. It is true that the load wasn’t weighed before loading, but they would have been weighed before reaching ration stores. Not a single load has been moved out, they said.
The ‘election urgent’ board was on the vehicles due to the oversight of the truck owner. They were used for election purposes the other day too, they added.