Chhattisgarh ACB registers 2 cases in DMF, rice millers cases on ED complaint
By Riteish Mishra
Chhattisgarh Anti Corruption Bureau has registered separate FIRs in connection with irregularities in the District Mineral Foundation and paddy custom milling on complaints by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the state government said in a statement on Monday.
The two cases were registered on January 16. About two dozen people including Indian Administrative Service (IAS) official Ranu Sahu, contractors and rice millers have been named as suspects in the FIR. “The investigation in these cases has started,” a senior official said.
The state government issued two statements on the two FIRs registered by ACB.“As per the complaint by ED, with respect to the process of depositing custom milling rice in the Civil Supplies Corporation and Food Corporation of India (FCI) by various rice millers, it was found that, with the aim of obtaining undue benefits, an unlawful amount (commission) per quintal was collected by various government officials by misusing their position and in collusion with the rice millers. The aforesaid act has caused huge financial loss to the government,” a government statement said citing the ED complaint.
It said Kailash Rungta, president of Chhattisgarh State Rice Millers Association), Parasmal Chopra (vice-president) and Roshan Chandrakar (treasurer) were also suspects in the case.The statement added that Manoj Soni, who was the Markfed managing director, allegedly instructed Preetika Pooja, the Korba district marketing officer of Chhattisgarh State Cooperative Marketing Federation Limited (CG-Markfed) via Roshan Chandrkar that only bills of rice millers who have paid the commission will be cleared.
A search by the income tax department had previously led to a recovery of ₹140 crores from the millers.
“..Illegal benefits were given to the bidders by wrongly determining the tenders that caused financial loss to the state government. It was also found that about 40% of the total tender amount was allegedly given to public servants and they also obtained commission at rates between 15 to 20% on the tenders from bidders,” the statement reads.
In the second case, it said financial irregularities were committed in DMF in different districts.
DMF is a trust, set up as a non-profit body in all districts of Chhattisgarh to work for the interest and benefit of persons and areas affected by mining-related operations.
“Prima facie, it has been found that (IAS officer) Ranu Sahu and other public servants, misused their positions and hatched a criminal conspiracy in connivance with various bidders for allotment of various tenders, in order to pass bills, clearing bills of more value than the actual value of any item and obtaining their payments etc and ensure illegal benefit to these bidders and middlemen,” the statement said.
Sahu, a Chhattisgarh-cadre IAS officer of the 2010 batch, was arrested last July by the ED in connection with the alleged coal levy scam.
This article has been republished from The Hindustan Times