Four arrested for stealing noon meal scheme eggs in Trichy

Trichy: In a crackdown on theft from the school noon meal scheme, Trichy city police arrested four people, including three women, for stealing eggs meant for the scheme and selling them to private eateries. The accused were remanded in judicial custody on Saturday night.
The eggs, provided by the state government for the noon meal program, bear an official seal on their shells.The accused reportedly removed the seals and sold the eggs to an eatery near E Pudur in Trichy. Police identified the main accused as R Raghuraman, a subcontractor supplying eggs to the noon meal program in schools. His wife, R Sathiya, works as a nutritious meal program organiser at a school. The couple diverted a portion of eggs meant for students in the Manikandam block, stocking them at their residence and selling them in trays of 30 eggs each for ₹110 to eateries.
"We received a tip-off about the illegal sale of eggs to a private eatery. During a surprise inspection, we found five eggs with the government seal," a food safety official said. Following a confession, food safety officer A Ponraj filed a complaint with the E Pudur police, leading to the arrest of the couple. The eatery owner, Jernathul Kubra, and her sister, A Salma, were also arrested.
It may be noted that on September 19, Trichy district police apprehended a noon meal organizer and a restaurant owner in Thuraiyur town for misusing eggs from the scheme.