Malappuram: In a major setback to the state Civil Supplies Department, grocery items worth Rs 2.78 crore went missing from the godown of Supplyco at Tirur here. The internal audit wing of the department carried out an inspection and detected major irregularities at the godown. Following this, the department suspended eight officials from service.

Kalpakanchery police registered a case and started the investigation after receiving a complaint from the Supplyco depot manager. Manorama News reported that police booked the eight officials who faced departmental action over the incident. Tanur DySp V V Benny is in charge of the probe.

The swindling of items made headlines now when Supplyco outlets are running out of stock. People have been depending on Supplyco stores as the price of essential items continues to soar. Hence, opposition parties are slamming the state government for failing to take steps to control inflation and distribute essential items to people at low prices through stores under the Civil Supplies Department.