Fake gate pass racket expands, police arrest two grain market staffers

The police have arrested two more employees of the Karnal grain market in the alleged “ghost paddy” procurement scam involving fake gate passes issued without the actual arrival of paddy. With the latest arrests, the number of accused taken into custody in this FIR has risen to three, after the earlier arrest of suspended mandi supervisor Pankaj Tuli. The anticipatory bail pleas of Market Committee Secretary Asha Rani and employee Yashpal have already been rejected by the court.

The newly arrested accused, Ankit and Ankush — both residents of Dabkola in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh — were arrested on Thursday and produced before a court on Friday, which granted them one-day police remand. In total, across four FIRs registered in the district over procurement irregularities, five persons have been arrested so far, including two millers nabbed earlier by Assandh police.

“They were involved in issuing gate passes without the actual arrival of paddy at the Karnal grain market, acting in connivance with and on the directions of Mandi Secretary Asha Rani,” said Superintendent of Police Ganga Ram Punia. “We are making efforts to arrest other persons involved in all four FIRs registered so far,” he added.

The city police have booked Asha Rani along with Rajender Kumar of Budhanpur Viran (Indri block), Amit Kumar of Dadupur Roran and Ajay Kumar of Narukheri village under Sections 318(4), 338, 336(3), 340(2), and 316(5) of the BNS for large-scale irregularities in issuing fake and unauthorised gate passes. Several of these were generated using different IP addresses from outside the grain market.

Investigators also found the involvement of Pankaj Tuli, earlier posted at Jundla grain market, and Yashpal, posted at Taraori but holding additional charge of Karnal. Sources said Yashpal played a key role in planning and coordinating the operation.

An ongoing probe across eight grain markets — Karnal, Gharaunda, Assandh, Taraori, Indri, Nissing, Nigdhu and Jundla — suggests “fake” procurement was shown on paper despite no actual stock. Unusually high arrival figures compared to last season triggered suspicion, especially with late harvesting and lower yields this year.

Following ‘The Tribune’ reports, the district administration intensified checks, setting up nakas at Manglora and Shergarh Tapu on the Haryana-UP border and increasing surveillance inside markets. Teams have been deployed to verify production against gate pass issuance. Deputy Commissioner Uttam Singh also ordered physical verification of mills, stock audits and CCTV examination. “The whole investigation conducted by different teams resulted in unearthing a big scam in the district,” said a senior official.