CM BS Yediyurappa warns of legal action against illegal BPL ration card holders
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday said government employees and owners of tractors and other vehicles must return the BPL ration cards immediately, failing which stringent legal action would be initiated against them.
The CM issued directions in this regard to officials as he conducted a review meeting of the Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs department today.
Proper supply of ration must be ensured to eligible beneficiaries and action has to be taken to prevent misuse of the facility by those not eligible, Yediyurappa was quoted as saying by his office in a release.
Nearly 63,000 ration cards were canceled before the COVID-19 outbreak, he noted and directed officials to initiate a campaign to cancel all illegal ration cards.
"This campaign would help in curtailing the financial burden on the State's reserves," he added.
In the backdrop of coronavirus pandemic, both the Central and State governments have distributed sufficient quantities of ration, and about 95 percent ration cardholders have availed the benefit, the release said.
Under the Chief Ministers Anila Bhagya Scheme, 98,079 beneficiaries have been given 3 gas cylinders free of cost, it said.
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Body of UP man killed in Riyadh missile attack brought to native village
Sitapur (UP) (PTI): The mortal remains of a 26-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh, who was killed in a suspected missile attack in Riyadh earlier this month, was brought to his native village in Sitapur on Wednesday, his family members said.
Ravi Gopal, a resident of Baghain village under Mahmudabad police station limits, had been working as a driver in a plastic factory in the Saudi capital since September 2025. He was killed on the night of March 18 in what his family described as a missile strike near his workplace.
His elder brother, Manmohan Dayal, told PTI that the mortal remains were handed over to him in Lucknow on Wednesday morning with the help of the administration.
"The body was received around 9.30 am. We are now taking it to our village in an ambulance and expect to reach by noon," he said earlier this morning.
"The cremation will be held today and preparations are already underway in the village," he said.
Dayal said Rakesh Kumar, Naib Tehsildar from Mahmudabad, has been deputed to facilitate the process and was accompanying the convoy.
He added that the family had been informed earlier by embassy officials and the local administration that the body would be flown from Riyadh to Lucknow, arriving on Wednesday morning.
Earlier, the family had claimed that Ravi died after being buried under debris following a missile strike near the factory where he worked. He was later taken to a hospital where doctors declared him dead.
The Ministry of External Affairs had said it received information on March 18 regarding the "tragic demise of an Indian national" in Riyadh and expressed condolences to the bereaved family. The Indian Mission in Riyadh coordinated with local authorities to facilitate the repatriation of the body.
Ravi, the sole breadwinner of his family, is survived by his wife and a four-year-old son. The family has sought compensation and assistance from the administration.
Officials said the district administration remained in touch with the family to ensure smooth completion of formalities.
