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2 FIRs filed over ₹3.5-Cr paddy embezzlement; Rice miller, officials booked for irregularities
The accused include a rice mill owner, a mandi secretary, four mandi inspectors, and a sub-inspector from the Food and Supplies department.
Days after Karnal deputy commissioner (DC) Uttam Singh ordered physical verification of paddy stock at rice mills and scrutiny of gate passes at mandis, police on Thursday registered two separate FIRs against a rice miller and government officials for alleged large-scale irregularities during the ongoing kharif procurement season.
The accused include a rice mill owner, a mandi secretary, four mandi inspectors, and a sub-inspector from the Food and Supplies department.
In the first case, DC Uttam Singh said that during physical verification of paddy allotted to mills for custom milling, the quantity of paddy was found to be short. “On finding the involvement of a rice miller and four mandi inspectors, an FIR has been lodged on the complaint of district food supply and controller (DFSC) Anil Kumar,” he said.
The FIR names M/s Batan Foods director Satish Kumar, a resident of Salaru village, along with four mandi inspectors — Yashveer Singh (Gharaunda grain market), Sandeep Sharma (Jundla), Sameer Vashisht (Karnal), and Lokesh Kumar (Nissing).
According to the complaint, a team led by SDM Karnal inspected the paddy allotted to M/s Batan Foods on October 25, 2025. Of the 67,013 bags (25,129.87 quintals) of PR paddy allotted to the mill, 33,254 bags were found at the mill premises and 30,853 bags at Bhatia Open Plinths, Jundla—both in the presence of Satish Kumar.
“The mill had no official permission to store paddy at either location. In addition, 2,906 bags (1,032.5 quintals) were found missing,” the FIR states. A separate report from the Jundla market committee revealed that the bags found at the second location did not belong to Batan Foods.
The inspection further showed that no milling activity had taken place at the mill. Of the 33,254 bags found at the premises, 12,500.18 quintals of PR paddy were counted, while the bags stored at Bhatia Open Plinths, Jundla were undocumented and therefore could not be treated as legitimate mill stock.
Officials said that Satish Kumar tried to mislead the inspection team by submitting a false report with his signature, indicating deliberate intent to embezzle government paddy. “By presenting a false affidavit and fake signatures before the team, an embezzlement of about ₹3.54 crore — the value of 33,759 bags (12,659.62 quintals) of paddy including MSP, market, and transport charges at ₹2,800 per quintal — was committed,” the FIR said.
In the second case, registered on the complaint of Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB) official Ishwar Singh, a probe revealed that 855 metric tonnes of paddy were missing after physical inspection at another mill.
The inspection team, led by ADC Sonu Bhatt and comprising representatives from HAFED, DFSC, and HWC, visited BRC Overseas, Sambhali, on October 27. They found 59,049 bags of paddy (2,538.72 metric tonnes) and 1,742 metric tonnes of rice (equivalent to 2,600 metric tonnes) at the site. Records, however, showed that the mill had received 1,59,833 bags, indicating a shortage of 855 metric tonnes.
The mill claimed that the remaining paddy was stored at the Sagga sub-yard, allegedly with authorisation from Taraori Market Committee secretary Sanjeev Sachdeva. It was further revealed that two other firms—M/s Mittal Agro Impex and M/s Shanaya Mill—had also been allowed to store paddy at the same sub-yard. Another letter from BRC Overseas cited similar permission granted by Food and Supplies sub-inspector Ramphal.
A subsequent inspection at the Sagga sub-yard found 56,740 bags of paddy. Mittal Agro Impex and Shanaya Mill were also found to have 26,000 bags (1,014 metric tonnes) and 31,000 bags (1,209 metric tonnes), respectively.
“The combined stock of the three firms should have totalled 3,078 metric tonnes, but only 2,212.86 metric tonnes were found. This clearly shows that all three firms jointly stored paddy at one location to evade inspection,” the FIR said.
The report concluded that both officials—Sachdeva and Ramphal—had exceeded their authority by granting unauthorised storage permissions. “Collusion between the millers and officials cannot be ruled out,” it added.
