Maharashtra government for first time invokes MCOCA against ration mafia

Maharashtra government has invoked stringent provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against ration mafia.
With this, state government aims at weeding out the widespread corruption by taking stringent action against those who tamper the public distribution system (PDS) mechanism.
The first case in this regard was registered against five persons from Nashik for allegedly being ration mafia and were involved in the pilferage of food grains meant for PDS. The accused were involved in the infamous Surgana scam which had misappropriated nearly 3,000 metric tonnes (MT) of foodgrain supplied under the PDS to the tribal-dominated Surgana region of Nashik.

About Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA)

• The law enacted by Maharashtra state in 1999 to combat organised crime and terrorism in the state.
• MCOCA was enacted to remove drawbacks of existing legal framework which was inadequate to curb or control the menace of organised crime.
• The law has stringent and deterrent provisions including in certain circumstances power to intercept wire, electronic or oral communication to curb the menace of organised crime.

Month: Current Affairs - June, 2015