Food supply inspector caught red-handed while taking bribe

An anti-corruption bureau (ACB) team from Karnal arrested Rajiv Kumar, an inspector of the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, red-handed while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000.

Vikas Sharma, a resident of Kharajpur village, said his wife Rajni and her brother Vikram Kumar run a ration depot. The depot operates under the jurisdiction of inspector Rajiv Kumar and Assistant Food and Supply Officer (AFSO) Aman Kumar of Kunjpura block. Sharma alleged that substandard wheat was supplied to their ration depot through the Haryana State Warehousing Corporation (HSWC) godown. After receiving the poor-quality stock, he lodged a complaint with the department.

After this complaint, on January 28, inspector Rajiv Kumar and AFSO Aman Kumar visited the ration depot for an inspection. Later, on January 31, 2025, Aman Kumar called the complainant, asking him to meet Rajiv Kumar in Karnal to resolve the issue. The complainant was summoned to Newal village, where Rajiv Kumar allegedly pressurise him, while saying that if an adverse report was written during the ration depot inspection, the supply to his depot would be stopped. The inspector then demanded Rs 10,000 bribe and received Rs 5,000 from the complainant, which was withdrawn from an ATM.

Even after receiving part of the bribe, Rajiv Kumar allegedly insisted that Rs 5,000 was still pending. Additionally, he demanded a commission of Rs 6,850, calculated at Rs 12 per quintal, for distributing approximately 570 quintals of ration at the depot. In all, the inspector demanded Rs 10,000 as a bribe.

Acting on the complaint, the ACB Karnal team laid a trap and apprehended inspector Rajiv Kumar red-handed while accepting Rs 10,000 from the complainant at the Kunjpura office of the department. A case has been registered against inspector at the Anti-Corruption Bureau police station in Karnal.

Rajiv Kumar was posted at the Kunjpura office of the department on January 8, 2025. On January 2, 2025, the ACB Karnal team had also arrested AFSO Rajendra Singh, inspector Neeraj, and retired staff member Ramchandra for accepting bribe. These officials were accused of collecting monthly bribes from ration depot holders.