
Khammam police have invoked the Preventive Detention Act against two accused in a PDS rice black marketing case. Commissioner of Police Sunil Dutt said four cases were registered against Mirza Jilani Baig…
Khammam police have invoked the Preventive Detention Act against two accused in a PDS rice black marketing case. Commissioner of Police Sunil Dutt said four cases were registered against Mirza Jilani Baig of Tallada mandal for illegally buying subsidised rice from ration dealers, transporting it across state borders and selling it on the black market. Despite earlier cases and notices under the BNSS, Baig did not mend his ways.

The PD Act was also invoked against Kaja Rama Rao alias Jayanthi Rama Rao of NTR district, Andhra Pradesh. Five cases were registered against him between April and May 2026 across Khammam and Kothagudem districts, and two in 2024. He allegedly procured PDS rice by misusing beneficiaries' biometric fingerprints through ration dealers and agents. Both accused have been shifted to Chanchalguda Central Jail in Hyderabad.
The PD Act is a preventive detention law that allows police to detain a person without trial for up to 12 months if their actions threaten public order. The act is meant for habitual offenders whom regular criminal cases and bail fail to deter. In Telangana, the law has been invoked in the past against those accused in PDS grain diversion, sand mafia and drug peddling cases, though it faces periodic court challenges for alleged misuse. The two accused here are not small-time carriers: the police describe an organised chain where ration dealers collude to harvest beneficiary biometrics and move subsidised grain across state borders. The jail term under PD Act is administrative, not a criminal conviction, the actual trial in the FIRs will proceed separately. The next step is a review board that must confirm the detention within three months for it to hold.
Source: telanganatoday.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.