Hyderabad, April 16 -- The Congress government on Wednesday, April 15, opposed the petitions filed by more than 360 rice millers in the Telangana High Court to quash paddy diversion cases against them.

The prosecution stated that the rice millers defaulted on payments Rs 3,960 crore, equivalent to the value of the entrusted stocks.

The state government argued that many of the accused millers diverted money from the misused paddy into various sectors, including film production, real estate investments, acquisition of assets and even the establishment of new mills in the names of family members.

The scam came to light during an inspection by the Telangana Civil Supplies Department. Representing the government, Public Prosecutor Palle Nag...