A deputy general manager of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) was arrested on Wednesday as the CBI launched 'Operation Kanak', conducting searches at 50 locations in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi to unearth corruption in the PSU behemoth.
The agency booked 74 people and entities in the FIR, including FCI executive director Sudeep Singh, following a six-month-long undercover investigation to identify the syndicate involving officials, rice mill owners and middlemen involved in the procurement, storage and distribution of food grains.
Thirty-four of those named in the FIR are serving officials, which ranges from technicians to executive directors, while three are retired officials. Seventeen private persons and 20 entities have also been named in the FIR.
FCI deputy general manager Rajiv Mishra landed in the CBI net for allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 50,000 from one Ravinder Singh Khera, CBI officials said.
The role of some senior officers of the Punjab government was also being investigated as the CBI believes that they were running 'Benami' godowns, which were outsourced to the FCI.
According to the CBI, accused officials received bribes from silos operators and rice millers to favour them during the tender process. FCI officials also allegedly showed more procurement on paper.
This has forced farmers to sell their produce through the syndicate. Also, consumers were getting sub-standard grains under the Public Distribution System.
(Published 11 January 2023, 16:35 IST)
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