Chandigarh, November 25, 2024 (Yes Punjab News)
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during its ongoing campaign against corruption in the state has registered a criminal case against four partners of a rice mill namely – Singla Food Products, Bhawanigarh in Sangrur district for misappropriating 14 wagons of paddy and causing a huge loss to the government.
Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson of the state VB said this investigation was conducted against the said rice mill based on a letter received from the then Managing Director of PUNSUP. The aforementioned rice millers had signed an agreement with the PUNSUP, a state procurement authority, for storage of paddy and rice milling during the year 2011-12.
He further stated that the then District Controller, Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (DFSC) department, Sangrur had sent a complaint letter to the then district manager PUNSUP, Sangrur to conduct an enquiry against the said rice mill for misappropriation of paddy.
He further added that in this connection, during physical inspection of the Singla Food Products and Singla Agro Mill, Bhawanigarh, conducted jointly by the then Deputy Manager (Storage) PUNSUP Jaspal Sharma and then D.F.S.C Anjuman Bhaskar, it had came to light that there was a shortage of 14 wagons of paddy in the Singla Food Products.
The spokesperson further added that the owner of said rice mill had produced a fake certificate to the inspecting team issued by the concerned Food Corporation of India (FCI) officials posted at that time at a godown in Nabha to take undue advantage of missing bags of rice to which both the FCI officials had submitted that the certificate bears their bogus signatures.
Based on this investigation report a criminal case has been registered against the four partners of Singla Food Products, Bhawanigarh – namely Pawan Kumar, and three lady partners – Lilavati, Manju Singla and Sameera Singla, under sections 406, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471, 120-B of I.P.C. at VB police station, economic offences wing, Ludhiana range. Further investigation into this case was under progress, he said.
