Nainital, Feb 27 (PTI) The Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday directed the state government to investigate an alleged fake ration card scam in Udham Singh Nagar district within four months and take action against the culprits.

The order was issued by a division bench of the high court comprising senior Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice Ashish Naithani while hearing a PIL by one Dipesh Kumar, a resident of Udham Singh Nagar district.

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Thousands of above poverty line (APL) ration cards were converted into below poverty line (BPL) cards in Udham Singh Nagar district to obtain government-sanctioned ration, the PIL alleged.

It was alleged in the PIL that departmental officers and ration dealers were hand-in-glove in the scam.

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The PIL was filed with a prayer for investigation by an independent agency, to bring the scam to light and punish those involved.

The high court granted four months to the state government to file an investigation report and bring the culprits to book.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)