4 Haryana food supply officials sacked in paddy embezzlement case

Haryana’s Director General of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Anshaj Singh, has dismissed four department officials for their alleged role in a paddy embezzlement case detected at several rice mills in Yamunanagar district.

District Controller Nitish Kumar Singla said the dismissals, ordered on March 17, include Assistant Food and Civil Supplies Officer Devinder Kumar and inspectors Vinod Kumar, Manoj Kumar Yadav and Savita.

Sources said the officials were found guilty of serious negligence in monitoring paddy arrivals, storage, stock reconciliation, and procurement-related processes.

Physical verification reports revealed a shortage of around 16,110 metric tonnes of paddy at rice mills in the Pratap Nagar, Ranjeetpur, and Chhachhrauli areas, resulting in an estimated loss of Rs 41.89 crore to the state exchequer.

Following the detection of the shortfall, the district Food and Civil Supplies Department and HAFED registered three FIRs in November 2025 against rice mill owner Sandeep Singla and his wife, whose seven mills were found involved.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted on the directions of Superintendent of Police Kamaldeep Goyal, is probing the case. So far, the SIT has arrested Sandeep Singla and a senior HAFED official.

According to official records, a total of 6,75,384 metric tonnes of paddy was procured across 13 grain markets in Yamunanagar district till November 15, 2025, the last day of procurement. In comparison, 6,09,166 metric tonnes were procured during the previous season.