BJP leader Manikanth Rathod arrested in rice theft case

Kalaburagi: BJP leader Manikanth Rathod has been arrested in connection with the theft of rice meant for the Anna Bhagya scheme, police said on Wednesday.

The Shahapur police arrested Rathod from his residence in the district headquarters town of Kalaburagi.

“Manikanth has been arrested in connection with the theft of 6,077 quintals of rice worth more than Rs. 2 crore from a government warehouse in Shahapur in Yadgir district,” the sources said.

The BJP leader was summoned by the police to appear before it for questioning, which he ignored due to which he was arrested.

Rathod had contested the 2023 assembly election on the BJP ticket against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s son Priyank Kharge and lost.

Anna Bhagya scheme offers 10 kg food grains to each member of the family belonging to the economically weaker sections of the society every month.