Food inspector arrested in wheat scam worth lakhs

The police have arrested an inspector of the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department for his alleged involvement in a wheat worth lakhs. He was posted at a godown in Kunjpura. As per the police, the accused was the mastermind behind the diversion of wheat from the buffer stock.

Confirming the arrest, DSP Rajiv Kumar said a case had been registered against the inspector, Ashok Kumar, on the complaint of a department official. “We are collecting evidence to ensure that the guilty face strict legal action. No accused will be spared,” he said.

The accused was produced before the court, which sent him to police custody for three days.

As per officials, the issue came to light when the inspector refused to release wheat for depot supply, raising suspicion. He had claimed that the stock was “unfit for distribution”, which turned out to be false. “The matter was brought to the notice of the Director of the department, who constituted an inquiry committee,” said Anil Kumar, District Food and Supplies Controller (DFSC).

During the inquiry, large-scale irregularities were detected at the godown and the stock was shifted from Kunjpura to Karnal for verification. It was found that there were fewer bags than recorded and several sacks were underweight.

He said bags marked as 50 kg were found grossly underweight. Nearly 4,900 bags were short in weight, amounting to around 2,500 quintals, valued at approximately Rs 68 lakh. The missing wheat was allegedly siphoned off and sold in the open market.