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Wheat scam in Punjab: Senior SAD leader points the finger at minister; seeks CBI probe
At least 87,160 quintal of wheat went missing from the warehouses of the Punjab Grains Procurement Corporation Limited (Pungrain) in Jandiala Guru sub-division of Amritsar district
Ludhiana Senior Akali leader Maheshinder Singh Grewal on Monday demanded a high-level probe into the alleged grain scam in Amritsar. Pointing the finger of suspicion at Punjab food and supplies minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Grewal said the scam could not have been executed without the involvement of senior functionaries and politicians. He also demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation into the matter, as this was not the first time that a discrepancy had come to light.
At least 87,160 quintal of wheat went missing from the warehouses of the Punjab Grains Procurement Corporation Limited (Pungrain) in Jandiala Guru sub-division of Amritsar district.
Grewal said that siphoning off of grain valued at between ₹16 and ₹20 crore in Pungrain godowns in Amritsar district alone, could not have been carried out by a single inspector or officer, and without connivance of officials and politicians. He has also sought a separate probe into last year’s leak of a purported chat between a Punsup district manager and a trader regarding allowing the sale of paddy bought at lower rates from other states to procurement agencies at the minimum support price (MSP) in Punjab.
“The practice of buying cheaper paddy from other states and selling it to government agencies here had been going on for quite some time, but nothing has been done,” claimed Grewal.
