Vigilance arrests suspended PUNSUP official in paddy scam

The Vigilance Bureau (VB), Ludhiana, arrested Jagandeep Singh Dhillon, a suspended district manager (DM) of PUNSUP, here, who had been absconding in connection with a multi-crore paddy scam involving grain markets of the district. Dhillon surrendered before a court today and was subsequently arrested by the bureau.

A spokesperson for the state Vigilance Bureau disclosed that Dhillon was wanted in connection with a scam related to paddy transportation tenders within the Food and Civil Supplies Department, Punjab. In this regard, a case was registered on August 16, 2022, at the VB police station, Ludhiana range, against former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu and other suspects.

He said Dhillon had previously obtained anticipatory bail from the High Court on September 18, 2023. However, the Supreme Court set aside the bail order. Since then, he had been absent from duty and was placed under suspension by his department. The VB had been making continuous efforts to apprehend him.

The spokesperson further revealed that Dhillon, as a member of the District Tender Committee, during 2020-21, failed to verify tenders of certain contractors involved in the scam. He allegedly colluded with the contractors, facilitating the allotment of tenders in exchange for bribes. Additionally, Dhillon violated clause 12(j) of the State Custom Milling Policy by transferring food grains from shops of commission agents Krishan Lal and Anil Jain to rice shellers of their relatives, in contravention of established procedures.

It was further revealed that Krishan Lal, one of the suspects, had brought over 2,000 jute bags from other states, which were used to transport paddy. Dhillon, in criminal conspiracy with co-accused Surinder Berry, the then district manager of PUNGRAIN, allegedly used the influence of former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, to divert paddy from grain markets of Lalton and Dhandran villages in the district to the Ludhiana Central markets, instead of the Killa Raipur centre. This manipulation was reportedly done to extract large bribes from rice millers.

As part of the investigation, it was found that Dhillon collected bribes ranging from Rs 3 to Rs 10 per paddy bag from rice millers in exchange for favorable allotments. Furthermore, he overlooked discrepancies in gate pass registrations, which listed scooter and motorcycle numbers, instead of truck numbers, allowing for misappropriation of paddy stored in godowns in collusion with contractors.