A Krishna district court in Machilipatnam on Monday granted anticipatory bail to Jaya Sudha, wife of former minister and senior YSR Congress party leader Perni Nani, in connection with the alleged siphoning of PDS rice from their godown.
While granting the anticipatory bail, the court instructed Jaya Sudha to cooperate with the police investigation.
According to the police, Perni Nani had set up a buffer godown under his wife Jaya Sudha's name near Potlapalem in Bandar Mandal.
During recent annual inspections, senior officials from the Civil Supplies Department discovered a significant discrepancy between the rice stored in the godown and the official records.
When questioned, Perni Nani initially claimed that the weighbridge was malfunctioning.
However, the government issued notices to Jaya Sudha, and in response, she paid Rs 1.79 crore to address the rice shortage. Further investigation revealed a shortage of 378 metric tons of rice in the godown.
On Monday, the District Joint Collector, Geetanjali Sharma, issued additional notices demanding an extra Rs 1.67 crore from Jaya Sudha.
The petition for anticipatory bail had already been heard in the Machilipatnam District Court, and the verdict was reserved for December 30.
With the verdict now delivered, discussions are intensifying in the district about how the Perni family will respond to the notice demanding Rs 1.67 crore.
