The accused, Kalaiarasan, 37 from Nangavalli, who runs a computer browsing centre in Konur area, had created a large number of forged documents to add fake beneficiaries in the scheme. He was produced in a court in Asthampatty and was lodged in Salem Central Prison. Earlier, two persons from Tharamanglam area were arrested a few days ago for a similar offence in the district. As many as 51 persons have been booked so far and more arrests are likely to follow in the coming days. The Salem district Collector SA Raman said that Rs 6 crore has been deposited into the account of ineligible persons under PM-KISAN scheme.

“Of the Rs 6 crore, Rs 1.57 crore has been recovered so far and efforts have been taken to collect the remaining Rs 4.43 crore too,” he said. Also, the bank accounts of about 10,700 persons have been freezed in the district. Similarly, thousands of bank accounts of ineligible beneficiaries have been blocked in Namakkal, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri. Tirupur district collector K Vijayakarthikeyan has said that an inquiry is under way into the issue and its outcome will be revealed soon. “No major irregularities have been found so far in the district,” he said.