“Ghost procurement of paddy”: 5 officials of Food Supplies Department terminated

By Parveen Arora

Director General (DG) of the Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs Department has terminated five officials of the department for their alleged involvement in ghost paddy procurement in the district during the last Kharif season.

They had already been booked in different FIRs registered in the district in connection with irregularities in paddy procurement, following which they were suspended.

The terminated officials include inspectors Sameer Vashisth, Lokesh, Sandeep Sharma and Yashbir, along with sub-inspector Ramphal for the irregularities during the paddy procurement season, confirmed Mukesh Kumar, District Food Supplies Controller (DFSC).

In the termination letters, the department cited several irregularities detected during the paddy procurement season as the reason for their dismissal.

The Tribune had highlighted this issue extensively during the paddy procurement season 2025-26, following which the Karnal police registered six FIRs related to the irregularities.

These cases brought to light multiple issues, including a shortage of stock in rice mills, the issuance of fake gate passes allegedly generated from external IP addresses, paddy shown as procured in official records but never physically received, and the recovery of undocumented and substandard rice. The Karnal Superintendent of Police (SP) constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate these FIRs.

The SIT investigated gate pass records, CCTV footage from all grain markets, and data related to vehicles used for lifting paddy, including their GPS location history in detail. The team also verified data from the e-Kharid portal to examine procurement entries and cross-check them with physical records. So far, more than 40 people have either been arrested or joined the investigation based on evidence collected during the inquiry.

Among those arrested are four secretaries of different market committees, a former District Food and Supplies Controller (DFSC), employees linked to procurement agencies and the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB), besides arhtiyas, millers and private individuals.

The Karnal police have so far filed charge sheets against 12 accused in two FIRs related to the Taraori and Indri grain markets. In these charge sheets, the police described the case as a deep nexus between officials and millers who allegedly manipulated procurement records and caused losses to the state exchequer.

The police are preparing charge sheets against the remaining accused and are likely to file them in the coming days, said a police official.

This article has been republished from The Tribune.