Warehousing official held from IGIA for wheat scam

A technical assistant of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation, accused of large-scale misappropriation of government wheat stocks, was arrested while trying to leave the country along with his family.

The police said a Look-Out Circular had been issued against Satpal Singh, who was taken into custody at the Delhi international airport on Tuesday night.

According to SP (D) Prabhjot Singh Virk, the accused was brought to Phagwara on a production warrant and produced before a local judicial magistrate on Friday. The court sent him to two-day police remand.

The arrest comes after a physical inspection at the corporation’s Hadiabad warehouse in Phagwara revealed discrepancies in wheat stock for two procurement years.

Based on a complaint by corporation official Tejinder Kaur, nearly 2,000 bags of wheat were found missing from government records. Inspectors reported that 1,595 bags could not be accounted for in the Rabi 2024–25 stock and another 395 bags from the Rabi 2025–26 stock, suggesting deliberate manipulation rather than a clerical lapse.

Police officials allege that Singh, serving as centre in-charge, had tampered with stock entries and diverted wheat through fraudulent means. The Warehousing Corporation has registered a complaint against him for criminal breach of trust and embezzlement, and a case has been lodged under Section 409 of the Indian Penal Code.