MOGA – Embezzlement of paddy worth Rs 8 crore has come to light in three rice mills in the district. After inquiries by food procurement agencies and the economic offences wing of the police, separate criminal cases under IPC Sections 406 and 420 have been registered against the owners of these mills.
Nishan Singh, Markfed district manager, alleged that 4,011 quintals of paddy worth Rs 78.94 lakh from the last year’s stock had gone missing from Dhaliwal Agro Rice Mills, situated near Rama village. A case has been registered at Badhni Kalan police station against Arun Kumar of Rama village.
The second case has been registered against Gurbhej Kumar and Luvkesh Kumar of Jagraon in Ludhiana, the co-owners of Joga Agro Industries, Ajitwal. They allegedly siphoned off 84,995 bags of paddy from the last year’s stock. The Punjab State Warehousing Corporation had stored 2,58,788 bags in this mill, of which 84,995 bags, worth Rs 5.68 crore, were found missing.
The third case has been registered against Gurbhej Kumar, who is running another mill, Hi-Tech Food Industry, at Ajitwal. As many as 11,460 bags worth Rs 79 lakh had gone missing from the total stock of 91,379 bags, which was stored by Markfed. No arrest has been made so far.
