Manikanth Rathod, a BJP leader from Chittapur in Kalaburagi district, was arrested by Yadgir police in Kalaburagi on Tuesday in connection with the rice theft case reported in Shahapur, Yadgir district, in November last year.
A team led by Circle Inspector of Police (Shahapur) S.N. Patil arrested Mr. Rathod in an apartment in Kalaburagi at about 7.30 p.m. and took him to Shahapur.
“Mr. Rathod was the main accused in the rice theft case reported in Shahapur police station in November last year. He was accused of stealing 6,077 quintals of rice worth ₹2.6 crore from a godown of Shahapur Taluk Agriculture Produce Co-operative Marketing Society. The rice in question was meant for distribution among the poor families under the Anna Bhagya scheme,” Mr. Patil told The Hindu over the phone.
The police said that Mr. Rathod had been absconding for the last few months. Upon receiving information about his presence in an apartment in Kalaburagi, Mr. Patil took a team and rushed to Kalaburagi to arrest him. Mr. Rathod resisted arrest by arguing with the police for around 20 minutes.
Mr. Rathod had contested the last Assembly Elections in the Chittapur segment against Congress leader Priyank Kharge. Many BJP star campaigners, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, had campaigned for Mr. Rathod.
Published - July 16, 2024 10:18 pm IST
