The video was recorded by a bystander outside the ration shop.
Ahead of the launch of the free delivery of atta (flour) scheme, the Punjab government has ordered verification of all blue ration cards distributed by previous governments. The reason behind the launch of the verification drive is a viral video in which a man driving a luxury car is seen taking free wheat from a ration shop in Hoshiarpur.
The video, that has emerged on social media, shows the man arriving at a government ration shop in Punjab's Hoshiarpur in a Mercedes to pick up subsidised food items. The ration is available at these shops for Below Poverty Line (BPL) category people who can't afford to buy it from a grocery store so the man's gesture has angered some of the Twitter users. The man who arrived in the blue Mercedes is seen keeping sacks of pulses and rice in the boot of his car. These items are available at Rs 2 per kg so that the extremely poor people can get good food.
The now-viral clip shows the Mercedes pulling over outside the ration depot. The driver gets down from the car, takes sacks of subsidised food from there and puts it in the trunk of the luxury car and leaves the area.
The video was recorded by a bystander outside the shop, who posted it on Twitter and it went viral.
Local publications said that the ration depot is being run by Amit Kumar. He told reporters that the person had a BPL card. When asked if he checks the credentials of people coming to his shop to prevent forgery, Mr Kumar said he just follows government order and has no idea about all this.
After the controversy over the video, the man who drover Mercedes, said it was his relative's car. "They don't live in India, and park the car at our place. It's a diesel car, so we just start it in a few days and take a few rounds," Ramesh Saini said.
He added that he took the car on a round and while he was passing through that area, saw his children who asked him to take some stuff in the boot of the car.
"I have a small videography business, my children also study in government school. I don't have enough money to send them to a private school," Mr Saini added.
Twitter users were shocked to see the video and said some people are not allowing the benefits to reach the intended beneficiary.
Punjab's Minister of Food and Civil Supplies Lal Chand Kataruchak said that probe is on for verification of genuine beneficiaries