E-Paper
Multi-crore paddy scam: Proclaimed offender held after 4 years
An official spokesperson of the VB stated that Gulshan Jain, a resident of Jandiala in Amritsar district, was arrested in connection with a case registered on April 5, 2018
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has arrested Gulshan Jain, a proclaimed offender (PO) linked to the multi-crore paddy scam in Amritsar district. Jain was declared PO by the court in 2019. An official spokesperson of the VB stated that Jain, a resident of Jandiala in Amritsar district, was arrested in connection with a case registered on April 5, 2018.
Ten persons, including the directors/owners of Veeru Mal Mulkh Raj Rice Mill, officials of the food, civil supplies and consumer affairs were also booked for their alleged involvement in the misappropriation and pilferage of paddy allotted to the mill by the state government procurement agencies, amounting to approximately ₹33.6 crore. Jain was said to be associated with the mill.
Jain was arrested by the CBI from the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, New Delhi, in connection with other cases registered against him by the agency. After obtaining his production warrant, the VB arrested him on Thursday. The spokesperson informed that accused DFSO Raminder Singh Bath, AFSO Vipan Sharma, inspector Gurjinder Kumar, statistic technical assistant (STA) Parminder Singh Bhatia and DFSC Amritpal Singh have already been arrested and a challan has also been presented in the concerned court against them. “The directors/owners of the mill had also allegedly defrauded Punjab National Bank in Jandiala Guru of approximately ₹200 crore,” he alleged in a press release.
The investigation was handed over to the Punjab Vigilance Bureau on April 24, 2018 and a special investigation team (SIT) is currently conducting further investigations under the supervision of the additional inspector general (AIG) of the Economic Offences Wing (EoW) in Mohali.
