Mohali, November 14, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
A Special CBI Court in Mohali has sentenced 30 people, including 14 Food Corporation of India (FCI) officials and 16 private rice millers, to jail terms ranging from one to three years in the 2004-05 Punjab Rice Procurement Scam.
The convicts were found guilty of criminal conspiracy and cheating under the Indian Penal Code by the Special Court on Friday. The 14 FCI officials were also convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, a CBI official said in a statement.
The court awarded rigorous imprisonment ranging from one to three years, along with fines.
According to the CBI, the case involved a conspiracy between FCI officials and private rice millers during the 2004-05 Kharif procurement season. Substandard rice was allegedly accepted as Grade-A rice at FCI centres in Malerkotla, Sunam and Tapa in Sangrur district, resulting in wrongful payments to millers and financial losses to the Corporation.
The irregularities came to light during joint surprise checks conducted by the CBI in September 2005. Laboratory tests of rice samples subsequently confirmed that the consignments did not meet the prescribed quality standards. The CBI registered the case on January 7, 2006.
In the Malerkotla centre case, the court convicted 10 people, including five FCI officials and five private rice millers. Former FCI Technical Assistants Varinder Rajput, Girdari Lal and K.P. Singh, along with former Assistant Managers (Quality Control) Raunaq Ali and R.N. Sharma, were sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 15,000 each.
The private millers convicted in this case included Harish Kumar and Rajnish Kumar, partners of Shiv Shakti Rice Agro Products, and Rakesh Goyal, partner of R.K. Agro Tech.
In the Sunam centre case, six people, comprising three FCI officials and three private rice millers, were convicted. Former FCI Assistant Manager (Quality Control) R.C. Verma and Technical Assistants Som Pal Singh and K.L. Gulati were sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 15,000 each.
In the Tapa centre case, the court convicted 14 people, including six FCI officials and eight private individuals. Former FCI Deputy Manager (Quality Control) Gurmail Singh, Assistant Manager (Quality Control) R.S. Sirohi, and Technical Assistants Ramesh Kumar, Harinder Singh, Harish Kumar and Satnam Singh were each sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 15,000.
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