India, May 2 -- https://tehelka.com/media/2025/05/rashan-1024x538.jpg
Intro for cover story: A quiet trade in welfare grain distributed under PMGKAY thrives across villages, turning a lifeline for the poor into underground commerce. A report by Tehelka SIT
"The grocery shop owners do not keep the government-supplied free rice openly in their shops; they store it elsewhere to avoid any government raid. If they display the rice in their shops, there's a risk that someone might tip off the authorities, which would get the shop owner into trouble," said Afsar Ali, a private broker from Mohanpur village, Bareilly district, Uttar Pradesh, to the Tehelka reporter.
"Either you're doing a sting on us, or you're from the police department. We don'...