Wheat embezzlement: Police recover 15,000 bags

PK Jaiswar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 11

The Punjab police today claimed to have recovered majority of wheat meant for the below poverty line (BPL) people under the Atta-Dal Scheme, which was embezzled with the connivance of officials of the District Food and Civil Supply Department here.

While the main culprit, Harpreet Singh, an inspector with the District Food and Civil Supply Department is yet to the arrested, the police today claimed to have recovered majority of wheat valued at Rs 1.13 crore in the market.

The police has recovered over 15,000 bags (15,040 to be precise) weighing 50 kg each so far following the confession and information given by Rajiv Kumar alias Rohit, a commission agent and close aide of prime suspect Harpreet Singh. Rajiv was arrested by the police around a week ago. Officials of the Police Department claimed that they would seize the remaining 2,468 bags soon. Efforts had been intensified to nab Harpreet, whose bail plea was rejected by the local court recently, they added.

Before the arrest of Rohit, the police had confiscated 1,805 bags and after his arrest the police seized 2,500 bags from Khazala village grain market. His further interrogation led the police to recover 3,200 and 2,500 bags of wheat, respectively, stored in two grain markets of Khiayala village. He was again brought on police remand and this time the police confiscated 2,115 and 2,920 bags, respectively from Chougawan grain market. As many as 17,508 bags were misappropriated by the culprits.

Amandeep Singh Brar, Assistant Commissioner of Police (central) said Rajeev’s interrogation revealed that many private flour mills denied purchasing wheat stock as it was being sold without mandatory bills due to strict measures taken by the department following the bungling. As the culprits failed to sell the embezzled stock, they stored it in the grain market, added the ACP.

It is pertinent to mention here that many trucks laden with government wheat landed at private flour mills in Amritsar and adjoining districts, besides several other parts of Punjab. When the matter was highlighted by The Tribune, a probe was conducted by the Food and Civil Supply Department in which misappropriation of more than 18,000 bags of wheat was unearthed. The police had booked Harpeet Singh, a food inspector with District Food and Civil Supply Department, in this connection.

The police investigations revealed that the culprits had supplied wheat in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, other neighbouring areas of Amritsar, besides in the local market. The police had also zeroed in on a Bathinda resident, who had ties with the cartel.