The decomposed carcass of a snake was found in a bag of rice supplied to a tribal family at Muthirery near Thalappuzha in Wayanad district.
The four-member family of Baby of Karimath Paniya tribal settlement at Muthirery found the carcass inside the rice bag supplied by Fair Price Shop No. 79 at Thidangary.
Mr. Baby and his wife received 50 kg of free rice on October 28 from the shop under a Government scheme during the pandemic. They took it home in two gunny bags and consumed nearly 38 kg of rice.
When they opened the second bag, a foul smell emanated. Still, they consumed it for a few more days. Later, they removed the rice from the bag and found the carcass inside it.
The shop owner said he had only transferred the rice procured from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) warehouse to the two gunny bags brought by Mr. Baby.
Meanwhile, Mananthavady taluk supply officer P.D. Narayanankutty said he had reported the matter to the District Supply Officer. “We inspected the bag of rice and found a fossil-like thing inside it, but we could not ascertain how it happened,” he added.
