CBI raids 50 locations in Punjab in FCI corruption case

New Delhi, Feb 22: The CBI on Tuesday launched searches at 30 locations in Punjab as part of its probe into allegations of corruption against Food Corporation of India (FCI) officials who procured inferior grains to benefit merchants and rice millers, officials said.

 

 

 

The CBI teams started coordinated raids at the premises of grain merchants, rice mill owners, and serving and retired officials of the FCI in several districts of Punjab, including Fatehgarh Sahib and Moga, as part of Operation Kanak 2, they said.

 

 

 

This is the second round of searches in the case pertaining to an organized syndicate of officers at the FCI, who allegedly took bribes of ₹1,000- ₹4,000 a truck unloaded at the FCI godowns from private millers per crop season for covering up lower quality grains supplied by them besides other favors. The bribes were allegedly shared with officials at every level up to the headquarters in a well-defined percentage of cuts at each level, it alleged. The first information report (FIR) gave details of such bribe collection in FCI depots across Punjab.

 

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Officials ranging from technical assistants to executive directors were allegedly part of a syndicate receiving bribes from private millers, they said. “The bribe was collected at the depot level by FCI officials on a per truck basis being unloaded at the depot during storage of grains. Thereafter, this amount was distributed among FCI officials of different ranks,” the FIR said.