Punjab Food Commission asks food dept to give detailed report on wheat scam

Chandigarh, September 16

The Punjab State Food Commission on Thursday sought a detailed report on the alleged wheat scam, which surfaced last month, within a fortnight.

The report has been sought from the state’s food and civil supplies department.

During physical verification of crop, more than 87,000 quintals of wheat valued at Rs 20 crore was found missing from the godowns of Jandiala Guru in Amritsar last month.

Commission chairman DP Reddy, in a statement here, said it has come to the notice of the commission through some media reports that Inspector Food Supplies Department Jasdev Singh, who is the main accused in the wheat scam, allegedly siphoned off crore of rupees given as minimum support price on wheat that was neither brought to mandis nor purchased.

“Fake entries for the purchase of 87,100 quintals of wheat valued at Rs 20 crore were made and it was shown to have been transported to godowns in Jandiala Guru,” he said.

Reddy said Jasdev, who is believed to have escaped to Dubai, was allegedly in cahoots with an Amritsar-based trader.

The commission has taken a serious note of the matter and issued a notice to the department to send a detailed report within a fortnight.

It also asked the Food Supplies Department to take strict disciplinary action against delinquent officials and recover the loss caused to the state exchequer. —PTI