diff --git a/backend/src/api/nft_manager.py b/backend/src/api/nft_manager.py
index 1505ec6..73199d7 100644
--- a/backend/src/api/nft_manager.py
+++ b/backend/src/api/nft_manager.py
@@ -324,6 +324,18 @@ def parse_ruleset_text(nft_text: str) -> Dict[Tuple[str, str, str], List[Dict[st
     return result
 
 
+def clean_rule_line(line: str) -> str:
+    """
+    Remove trailing ' # handle <num>' from a textual rule line.
+    This strips the handle comment part while preserving the rest of the line.
+    """
+    if not line:
+        return line
+    # remove ' # handle 123' optionally preceded by spaces and possibly at end-of-line
+    cleaned = re.sub(r"\s+#\s*handle\s*\d+\b\s*$", "", line)
+    return cleaned
+
+
 def populate_text_from_ruleset_text(custom: Dict[str, Any], nft_text: str) -> None:
     """
     Enrich JSON-derived 'custom' structure in-place by setting only rule['text']
@@ -380,11 +392,12 @@ def populate_text_from_ruleset_text(custom: Dict[str, Any], nft_text: str) -> No
                                 break
 
                 if mapped is not None:
-                    # ensure we only write a str into 'text'
+                    # clean the handle fragment from the textual line before storing
                     try:
-                        rule["text"] = str(mapped)
+                        cleaned = clean_rule_line(str(mapped))
+                        rule["text"] = cleaned
                     except Exception:
-                        rule["text"] = mapped  # should be str already
+                        rule["text"] = mapped  # fallback (should be str)
 
 
 # ---------- Normalization helper (lightweight and safe) ----------