E-Paper
Misappropriation of wheat stock: Ex-DFSC, 2 PUNGRAIN inspectors among five booked by VB
A VB spokesperson said the individuals booked in this case include Balraj Singh, DFSC, Ferozepur (now retired), Suresh Kumar, inspector PUNGRAIN, in-charge purchase centre, Ferozeshah, Balraj Singh, inspector, in-charge of godowns at villages Lalle, Haraj and Talwandi Bhai, Hardev Singh, owner of Happy Commission Agents, Pawan Kumar, owner of Dhaliwal Trading Company and Iqbal Singh, owner of Gill Trading Company
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has registered a case against a retired District Food and Civil Supplies Controller (DFSC), two inspectors from PUNGRAIN, and three commission agents (arhtiyas) for their involvement in the misappropriation of wheat stocks purchased during 2018-19 from four godowns located in Ferozepur district.
Disclosing this here on Tuesday, a VB spokesperson said the individuals booked in this case include Balraj Singh, DFSC, Ferozepur (now retired), Suresh Kumar, inspector PUNGRAIN, in-charge purchase centre, Ferozeshah, Balraj Singh, inspector, in-charge of godowns at villages Lalle, Haraj and Talwandi Bhai, Hardev Singh, owner of Happy Commission Agents, Pawan Kumar, owner of Dhaliwal Trading Company and Iqbal Singh, owner of Gill Trading Company.
A case was registered in this regard on Wednesday under sections 13 (1)(a) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act along with sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at VB Police Station Ferozepur range, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said that the wheat procured by the procurement agency, PUNGRAIN-Ferozepur, for the 2018-19 season from purchase centres in Talwandi Bhai, Wada Bhai Ka, and Ghall Khurd was stored at godowns located in villages Lalle, Haraj, and Talwandi Bhai, and inspector Balraj Singh was responsible for overseeing these facilities.
During a joint surprise inspection on May 30 and May 31, 2018, it was discovered that 10,716 bags, each weighing 50 kg, were missing from the registered stock, while an excess of 60 bags, each weighing 30 kg, were found in the existing stock. Additionally, the weight of many wheat sacks in the warehouse was found to be less than the specified quantity.
In another joint inspection at a godown in Ferozeshah village, it was found that Happy Commission Agent owner Hardev Singh, Dhaliwal Trading Company owner Pawan Kumar and Gill Trading Company owner Iqbal Singh, in collusion with inspector Balraj, who oversaw the PUNGRAIN warehouse at Shivam Enterprises in Lalle village, had falsely prepared records for purchase of 13,134 bags of wheat. Payments related to this fake procurement were transferred to the bank accounts of the aforementioned commission agents.
Subsequently, as this scam surfaced, Dhaliwal Trading Company had deposited 2,200 bags of wheat between May 25 and 27, 2018, without any gate passes, etc. in the same warehouse at Shivam Enterprises. The spokesperson also informed that the then assistant food and supply officer had inspected the grain market at village Ferozeshah on May 21, 2018, but found no bags of wheat in the market at that time.
During further investigation by the VB, it came to light that inspector Suresh Kumar, who was in charge of the purchase centre at Ferozshah, had conspired with Happy Commission Agents, Dhaliwal Trading Company and Gill Trading Company to falsely report the purchase of 13,134 bags of wheat, amounting to ₹1,13,93,745 in value.
This unscrupulous act resulted in a financial loss to the state exchequer as payments were made directly to the said commission agents. Additionally, then DFSC Balraj Singh failed to initiate criminal action against in-charge inspector Balraj Singh and the said commission agents despite being aware of the scam. The DFSC allegedly colluded with the inspector and the commission agents, enabling the collection of wheat sacks and the recovery of money from them, the spokesperson added.
Consequently, the government officials failed to collect the mandated 3% market fee and 3% rural development fund associated with this purchase, which should have been deposited with the treasury, thus causing a direct financial loss to the state government. In light of these findings, a case has been registered, and further investigation in this case was under progress, he added.
