FCI tech asst held for siphoning rice, wheat meant for public distribution

In a major development raising concerns over the handling of foodgrain stocks in Punjab, Satpal Singh, a technical assistant with the Food Corporation of India (FCI), has been booked in two separate cases of large-scale misappropriation involving rice and wheat meant for public distribution.

SSP Gaurav Toora, while giving details, said on Saturday that the first case pertains to the alleged misappropriation of 1,928 bags of rice during the 2024-25 season from the FCI godown at Vajidowal Complex, Phagwara. The irregularity was detected during a routine stock verification, following which Tejinder Kaur, district manager of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation (PSWC), lodged a complaint. Acting on the report, Sadar police, Phagwara, registered an FIR on September 11 under Section 409 of the IPC, naming Satpal Singh as the prime accused.

In a separate instance, a shortage of 13,296 bags of wheat was unearthed during a physical inspection of the PSWC godown in Kapurthala on August 31. The missing stock, belonging to the 2025-26, was also found under the charge of Satpal Singh.