ORDER

Date : 18-11-2022 Heard Mr. M.U. Mahmud, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. K.K. Das, learned Addl. P.P for the State of Assam.

2. The petitioner Sahidul Islam has filed an application under Section 438 Cr.P.C. with prayer for pr-arrest bail in connection with Kharupetia P.S. Case No. 259/2022 under Sections

379/41/34 IPC.

3. An FIR dated 14.09.2022 has been lodged at about 10 AM which unfolds that the police conducted a raid in a rice mill at Bihudia under Kharupetia and recovered 70 sacks full of rice from the rice mill of Ashadullah Ahcon and the rice is suspected to be PDS rice. The rice was being unloaded from a vehicle bearing Registration No. AS12/BC-2010 but when the police demanded for documents supporting the transfer of rice, no valid documents could be produced and the police could uncover that the petitioner who was the Secretary of Baruajhar Samabay Samiti used to provide PDS rice from time to time to different persons for his wrongful gain. The PDS rice was seized along with the vehicle and Ashadullah Ahcon along with Hanif Ali were forwarded to custody.

4. It is submitted on behalf of the petitioner that the Deputy Commissioner including the Directorate of Food & Civil Supply were not certain whether the rice was PDS rice. The letter dated 19.09.2022 annexed with the petition being No. QC/Proc/TZP/Genl.Corres/2020- 21/Part-I/6240 is a letter written by the Divisional Manager to the Deputy Commissioner that the chemical analysis of the sample was not possible and it could not be detected that the stock pertains to PDS or open market. The Officer In-charge vide letter dated 13.10.2022 to the Deputy Director, Food & Civil Supply, Darrang, Mangaldoi made a request for collection of duplicate sample to ascertain whether the rice is PDS rice or not. The sample was sent to CFSL, Kolkata for examination.

5. The learned Addl. P.P. Mr. K.K. Das has submitted that the sample report from Kolkata has not been submitted as yet.

6. It is submitted on behalf of the petitioner that the Annexure-‘6’ depicts that the Baruajhar GPSS receipts a total quota of 2745.75 quintals of FRK variety rice. The Annexure- 8, annexed with the petition depicts, the names of the wholesalers of Baruajhar S.S. Limited. The Annexure-9 depicts the quantity of PMGKAY rice received in the quota for FSD Tangla, Darrang in the mills of godown and the quantity tantamounts to 2109.82 quintals for September, 2022 and Baruajhar GPSS has a total of 2435.01 quintals. It is submitted that the petitioner is allotted to supply certain quantity of rice and this rice is not PDS rice. It has been alleged that the petitioner has been supplying PDS rice to different customers in the open market.

7. The learned Addl. P.P. Mr. K.K. Das has raised serious objection. It is submitted that the petitioner is the master mind of an organised network which holds PDS rice by hoarding the same without supplying to the beneficiaries and selling the PDS rice for their wrongful advantage in the open market causing wrongful loss to the beneficiaries who are entitled to their share of PDS rice distributed for them by the Government.

8. It is true that certain documents have been submitted on behalf of the petitioner which depicts that he is allotted to supply a certain quantity of rice but from the documents it cannot be ascertained that when the raid was conducted by the police officials, this was the rice which was recovered from the mill of Ashadullah Ahcon at Baruajhar under Kharupetia P.S. The photographs included in the inventory during seizure of the rice from rice mill, the sacks clearly depict the seal of the Government of Assam. It is true that the petitioner cannot be roped in on the basis of the statements of his co-accused persons, namely Ashadullah Ahcon and Hanif Ali. The Investigating Officer has also submitted a written objection against the bail prayer of the petitioner. The Case Diary reveals that the petitioner has appeared before the Investigating O