Haryana: Karnal police widen probe into ‘ghost paddy procurement’

By Parveen Arora

The Karnal police have widened the probe into the alleged “ghost paddy procurement” scam, intensifying scrutiny of farmers whose bank accounts received payments for paddy that allegedly never reached the grain markets.

According to police sources, statements of 17 farmers linked to the Karnal grain market have so far been recorded. Gate passes were issued in their names and payments transferred to their accounts, despite the farmers claiming they did not sell the paddy reflected on the e-Kharid portal.

Investigators said around 7,500 quintals of paddy were falsely shown as procured through these gate passes, causing a substantial loss to the state exchequer. The farmers reportedly disclosed that they later returned the money credited to their accounts to arhtiyas-cum-millers, pointing to serious irregularities in the procurement process.

Arhtiya-cum-miller Devinder Singh, arrested last week, allegedly issued gate passes in the names of three farmers and received the payments routed through them. Police recovered Rs 2 lakh from his possession. The investigation revealed that he allegedly made up the stock shortfall by purchasing paddy from Uttar Pradesh at lower rates.

“We are investigating all angles in this FIR related to the Karnal grain market. Statements of farmers are being recorded. Some farmers have already submitted their statements, and we will approach more farmers in the coming days,” said DSP Rajiv Kumar.

Sources said the FIR, registered at the City Police Station under Sections 318(4), 338, 336(3), 340(2) and 316(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), has uncovered large-scale irregularities in the issuance of fake gate passes, leading to ghost procurement and bogus entries generated outside the mandis. Official records showed receipt of paddy that never actually arrived at the grain market.

The police probe has pointed to a well-organised nexus allegedly involving officials and employees of the market committee, procurement agencies, arhtiyas, millers and others. Land belonging to different farmers was allegedly shown on the Meri Fasal, Mera Byora (MFMB) portal during crop registration at the behest of arhtiyas, enabling issuance of gate passes without physical arrival of paddy. The shortfall between records and actual stock was allegedly bridged by sourcing paddy or rice from other states at cheaper rates, while the government paid MSP of Rs 2,389 per quintal, resulting in major revenue loss.

Initially, former Karnal Market Committee secretary Asha Rani and employees Rajender Kumar, Amit Kumar and Ajay Kumar were named in the FIR. During the investigation, the names of auction recorder Yashpal, suspended mandi supervisor Pankaj Tuli, Sameer, Ankit and Ankush of Dabkola village in Uttar Pradesh, and Sameer from the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department also surfaced.

So far, police have arrested Pankaj Tuli, Ankit, Ankush, arhtiya Naresh Garg and Devinder Singh. Asha Rani and Yashpal have joined the investigation. Pankaj Tuli later died on November 20 at PGI Chandigarh after being shifted from jail.

This article has been republished from The Tribune.