E-Paper
Two DFSCs arrested in food grain scam sent to judicial custody
According to the Vigilance Bureau, the two DFSCs were members/conveners of the district tender committee at the time of allotment of tenders for transportation of grains
Three days after they were arrested in connection with the ₹2,000-crore food grain transportation scam on Tuesday, a local court on Friday sent district food and supplies controllers (DFSCs) Sukhwinder Singh Gill and Harveen Kaur to judicial custody.
The Vigilance Bureau had produced the duo before the court, seeking extension in their police remand.
According to the bureau, Gill and Kaur were members/conveners of the district tender committee at the time of allotment of tenders for transportation of grains.
They, along with other members of committee, were responsible to check the relevant documents attached with the tenders, including list of transportation vehicles, but they did not verify the vehicles’ registration numbers intentionally, as the list included numbers of scooters and motorcycles. Despite submission of wrong documents, the two officers allotted tenders to certain contractors by accepting bribe money from them, the bureau alleged.
While Gill had taken ₹2 lakh and an Apple iPhone as bribe, Kaur had taken ₹3 lakh from accused Telu Ram to favour certain contractors.
The VB has already initiated proclaimed-offender proceedings against three accused – RK Singla, dismissed deputy director of food and civil supplies, Pankaj Kumar, alias Menu Malhotra, and Inderjit Singh, alias Indi, personal assistants (PAs) of former food and civil supplies minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, during whose tenure the scam took place.
