Warehousing corp unearths ₹70lakh wheat purchase scam in Tarn Taran

Corporation inspector held, 2 commission agents among 4 booked; more officials under lens

TARN TARAN Police on Saturday arrested a Punjab State Warehousing Corporation (PSWC) inspector and booked four others, including two commission agents, after the corporation unearthed ₹70 lakh embezzlement in the purchase of wheat.

The arrested PSWC inspector has been identified as Gurnam Singh, who is posted at Bhikhiwind. Those booked are commission agents Kamal Kishor and his brother Rakesh Kumar, who operate from the Khalra grain market, and scrap dealers Chunni Lal and Manjit Singh of Amritsar.

The case was registered on the complaint of PSWC district manager Amardeep Singh, who complained that the corporation had given ₹65 lakh and 17 bundles of gunny bags worth ₹5 lakh to Kamal Kishor for purchasing 7,000 wheat bags (3,50,000 kg) but he didn’t deliver a single bag.

Amardeep Singh said Gurnam was posted in the grain market for buying wheat for this year’s purchase season. Amardeep said he visited the grain market on May 14 and inspected the records which showed that PSWC had purchased 8,500 wheat bags from Kamal Kishor and the payment of the remaining 1,500 bags was yet to be made.

He said he found that the commission agent’s brother Rakesh Kumar had sold the gunny bags given to them to the two Amritsar scrap dealers.

Bhikhiwind deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Sulakhan Singh Mann said preliminary investigation revealed that ₹70 lakh was embezzled in collusion with PSWC inspector Gurnam Singh.

“Kamal Kishor showed on papers that he transferred 4,750 wheat bags to the warehousing corporation’s Tarn Taran godown on May 8, 11 and 12 but probe revealed that it was never done. Other PSWC and Punjab Mandi Board officers are also under scanner as the purchase and payment cannot be done without their help. We are further investigating the matter,” Mann said.

A case was registered under Sections 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged) of Indian Penal Code.

“The other accused are absconding. The commission agents left the area soon after receiving the ₹65 lakh payment from PSWC on May 14,” the DSP said.

Commission agent Kamal Kishor showed on papers that he transferred 4,750 wheat bags to the warehousing corporation’s Tarn Taran godown on May 8, 11 and 12 but probe revealed that it was never done. SULAKHAN SINGH MANN, Bhikhiwind deputy superintendent of police