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Three FCI employees held for taking ₹58K bribe from rice miller in Sangrur
The complainant, Sikanderjit Singh of Patiala, a rice mill owner, stated that the accused demanded ₹25,000 bribe for the passage of six trucks of rice.
The Punjab vigilance bureau (VB) arrested three employees of Food Corporation of India (FCI) for allegedly taking a bribe of ₹58,000 in Sunam town of the district on Friday.
The accused have been identified as technical assistant Om Parkash, assistant manager Amit Kumar appointed at FCI’s Sunam food storage depot, and Paramjit Sharma, a private aide of the accused. Besides them, Naresh Kumar (quality controller) was also booked in the case.
The complainant, Sikanderjit Singh of Patiala, a rice mill owner, stated that the accused demanded ₹25,000 per truck in lieu of clearing quality checking of rice and storage at the FCI godown.
Patiala senior superintendent of police (VB) Mandeep Singh Sidhu said accused Om Prakash was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of ₹58,000. “The accused handed over the bribe amount to Paramjit Sharma of Shakarpura, Tohana tehsil, who was also held by the vigilance team,” added Sidhu.
The complainant also stated that Naresh Kumar and others had taken ₹1.5 lakh from him earlier. However, they allegedly harassed him and sought more bribes for the passage of new trucks.
The VB said that Sikanderjit’s trucks were also stopped on May 19 and 20. However, when the complainant met Naresh Kumar and the other accused, the latter demanded ₹25,000 per truck in lieu of various clearances.
Police said that when the accused were caught taking bribe, Naresh Kumar was not present at the scene, but he will be arrested soon.
A case has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC at the vigilance bureau station, Patiala range.
