Chhattisgarh: Rs 8.14 Crore Scam in Paddy Procurement Unearthed; Probe On

A major scam worth Rs 8.14 crore has been unearthed in paddy procurement and transportation in Mungeli district, Chhattisgarh, prompting strict action by the district administration. The investigation has led to the arrest of four accused, including rice mill operators and cooperative society managers, while a search is underway for four other absconding accused.

The action followed alerts received from ICCC Markfed Raipur, based on which a detailed inquiry revealed serious irregularities such as illegal overloading of paddy, transportation through fake vehicles, and recycling of stocks. Investigations found that vehicles used for paddy lifting were overloaded far beyond permissible limits—ranging from 200 per cent to as high as 1,116 per cent of their actual capacity.

Acting on the directions of Collector Kundan Kumar and Superintendent of Police Bhojram Patel, joint teams of the Food Department and Police conducted extensive checks. The probe exposed an organised racket involving rice millers, cooperative society officials, and other associates, causing a financial loss of over Rs 8.14 crore to the government. FIRs have been registered at multiple police stations, with four accused arrested so far.

The investigation revealed that the accused deliberately prepared forged documents, failed to distribute PDS rice, used fake vehicle registration numbers for transportation, and falsely showed excess paddy lifting to siphon off government funds. Preliminary findings indicate irregularities in the procurement and transport of more than 11 lakh quintals of paddy.

Specific cases include the Navagaon Ghutera Cooperative Society, which allegedly colluded with Upleta Rice Mill to illegally transport paddy using 74 GPS-enabled vehicles and over 40 non-GPS vehicles. Similarly, Singhanupuri Procurement Centre, in collusion with SS Food, transported 4,542 quintals of paddy using non-GPS vehicles; Chhatan Procurement Centre, in association with Deepak Rice Mill and Navkar Mill, illegally transported 3,589 quintals; and Jhagarhatta Procurement Centre was found involved in irregularities with Vardhman Rice Millers.

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Rice mill owners of Upleta and Vardhman mills, cooperative society managers, computer operators, and other individuals have been arrested in these cases. Meanwhile, Abdul Samad, Lalit Jain, Navend Menon, and Anil Jangde have been reported to have absconded, and police teams are actively searching for them.

Cases Registered At Other Police Stations

Separate cases have also been registered at Fastarpur Police Station (Crime No. 12/2026) and Lalpur Police Station (Crime No. 09/2026) for fraudulent transportation, cheating, and irregularities in paddy procurement centres. Accused persons in these cases have been arrested and sent to judicial custody.

The district administration has reiterated that any form of irregularity, corruption, or fraud in paddy procurement and the Public Distribution System will not be tolerated. Strict action will continue against all involved, and the remaining absconding accused will be arrested soon.

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