Srinagar: A ration scam has come to the fore in Food Corporation of India where the rice meant for Kashmir has been sold in Punjab.
Official sources revealed that 80 to 90 trucks dispatched from Jalandhar to the Valley had not reached to PEG Baramulla between September 2015 to March 2016 while fictitious challans with duplicate stamps have been used to make the entry of trucks possible in the official records here.
Official sources said it all starts as soon as trucks loaded with high quality rice meant for J&K consumers leave the FCI depots in Punjab. “Once truckloads of rice leave FCI depots for J&K, the official sell the rice on the way and the officials make its entry in official records with fictitious challans at PEG Baramulla,” an official said.
Recently, sources said the entry was also made in the official records at PEG Baramulla and fictitious challans have been used.
According to the official letter, the Assistant General Manager written to Area Manager FCI Srinagar, many challans have been shown received by PEG Baramulla but there is no corresponding entry at Lower Munda check post of FCI.
“Five trucks dispatched from NGM Jalandhar to PEG Baramulla. The signature made by the person has not been authorized by your office to sign the challans. However on checking up position from FCI District Officer Jalandhar for the last six-months it transpired that 5 challans in question have been acknowledged by the same officer who has been acknowledging challans in the last six-months,” the official letter reads.
A senior official of FCI said there is a nexus between some of the officials of FCI in Punjab and PEG Baramulla, who have been selling the rice in Punjab meant for the Valley and making the entry of trucks in official records at PEG Baramulla with the fictitious challans. “But there is no entry of these fictitious challans at Lower Munda,” the official said.
Earlier, an inspection team of the FCI conducted the inspection of godowns of Baramulla district in January this year and found variations in weight of ration which it had uploaded in Punjab for Jammu and Kashmir. Back in 2010, an investigation done by J&K Crime Branch had clearly pointed out the scandalous exercise. It had then received a report that FCI in the state had allegedly misappropriated huge quantity of rice shown to have been dispatched from their Jammu godowns to Kashmir during 2008. On the basis of the report, an FIR under section 409, 402, 468, 120B RPC was registered at the police station Crime Branch Kashmir.
