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Punjab vigilance writes to DGP for taking over ₹2.5-crore Phagwara wheat scam
12,000 quintal wheat was found to be missing from PUNSUP godowns in Phagwara and Bholath areas of Kapurthala district in July 2020
Jalandhar Punjab vigilance bureau has written to the state director general of police (DGP) seeking orders to take over investigation into ₹2.5-crore Phagwara wheat scam that first came to light in July 2020. In this case, 12,000 quintal wheat was found to be missing from PUNSUP godowns in Phagwara and Bholath areas of Kapurthala district. Kapurthala vigilance bureau has conducted a probe and submitted a report to PUNSUP.
“The vigilance bureau indicted five officials of PUNSUP, including its Kapurthala district manager, Daljit Singh, Jaswinder Singh, Gagandeep Singh, Iqbal Singh, all inspectors, and Rajiv Sehgal, senior auditor, as being involved in the scam. We had recommended an FIR against all of them,” said a local vigilance official.
In May 2021, Kapurthala police booked two inspectors, Jaswinder Singh and Iqbal, for siphoning off wheat, valued at ₹ 2.5 crore in Phagwara. The case was registered against the inspectors, on the complaint of Daljit Singh, district manager, PUNSUP. This FIR says that PUNSUP district manager, Daljeet Singh, along with other officials conducted physical verification of Bholath and Phagwara godowns and found nearly 19,000 bags of wheat (roughly 12,000 quintal) missing from stock. Daljit sent a report to the department and a criminal case was registered against the two officials.
Since then Daljit has maintained that he had filed a recovery suit against the two officials and flatly denied all vigilance bureau findings against him. “If PUNSUP has registered two FIRs, then we will take over these from it,” vigilance official said.
Senior officials with the Kapurthala Police said, “The vigilance bureau needs to probe corruption cases, as it is specially mandated to do so.”
The accused have been booked under Sections 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant) and under 13 (2) Section of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, at the Sadar Phagwara police station.
