Hyderabad, Oct. 29 -- The Telangana Civil Supplies Department conducted surprise raids on retail and wholesale rice dealers in Karmanghat, Hyderabad, and detected irregularities in rice stocks, officials said on Thursday.

Shashidhar Raju, Superintendent of the Civil Supplies Enforcement Task Force, said the raids targeted locations where rice was allegedly being hoarded to drive up prices. Officials also found rice bags carrying incorrect weight declarations, raising concerns over alleged cheating and tax evasion.

"The team is raiding the locations where rice hoarding is being done to raise the price of rice. Several bags have 26kg printed on them, but they contain 25kg of rice. This is a violation. There is no GST on 26kg but on 25kg. ...