Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked eight people, including senior officials of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Ltd (NERAMAC), over an alleged Rs 28.87 crore rice diversion racket involving the distribution of subsidised grain.
According to an FIR registered on August 27, the agency has alleged a criminal conspiracy between public servants and private traders to obtain rice at concessional rates in violation of the government’s Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic), or OMSS(D). The alleged arrangement could have caused a potential loss of Rs 28.87 crore to the FCI, the agency said.
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The case centres on the allocation of 62,000 metric tonnes (MT) of rice by the FCI’s Delhi Region to NERAMAC between April 13 and May 15, 2026. Of this quantity, around 50,645 MT was actually released, according to the FIR. The CBI alleges that the rice was lifted from FCI depots by traders instead of reaching the vulnerable groups for whom the subsidised grain was purportedly intended. The traders allegedly sold the rice onwards to other traders for “huge profits”.
Rs 28.87 CRORE ALLEGED LOSS TO FCI
The alleged financial loss forms a central part of the CBI’s case. The agency estimates that the FCI could have earned an additional Rs 28.87 crore if approximately 50,645 MT of rice had been sold through e-auction at the applicable reserve price of Rs 28,900 per MT, instead of being released at the concessional rate of Rs 23,200 per MT.
The FIR also raises questions over NERAMAC’s eligibility to receive rice without an e-auction under the OMSS(D) 2025-26 policy. According to the CBI, NERAMAC, despite being a Central government-owned enterprise, was not eligible for such an allocation. The agency said the policy permitted allocations without e-auction to state governments and their corporations.
Despite this, FCI’s Delhi Region allegedly continued processing and approving NERAMAC’s proposal. The FIR names then FCI Delhi Region General Manager Kunhiraman Padmini Asha, then AGM (Sales) Brahm Prakash and then Manager (Sales) Amarendra Vikram.
The CBI alleges that the officials handled the proposal with “undue haste” and failed to properly examine whether the allocation complied with the OMSS(D) policy. It further alleges that the General Manager continued approving the allocation and release of rice despite the alleged violation.
NERAMAC allegedly appointed three private entities — Utapalakshi Agro Products Pvt Ltd, Dibesh Commercials Pvt Ltd and Super Grains — as channel partners. The agency alleges that Rajesh Bajaj and Pankaj Saraf subsequently approached traders in the Delhi-NCR region and facilitated the lifting of rice from FCI depots.
According to the FIR, traders deposited Rs 23.25 per kg into NERAMAC’s bank account, while the private entities allegedly received commissions ranging from 64 paise to Rs 2.50 per kg.
The CBI alleges that the rice was subsequently diverted from its stated beneficiaries, including daily wage earners, labourers and migrant workers. Instead, it was lifted from FCI depots at Ghevra, Mayapuri and Narela and sold to other traders for “huge profits”. The agency further alleges that bogus date-wise charts were maintained in NERAMAC records to create the appearance that the rice had been distributed through retail outlets in Delhi and Noida. Antedated appointment letters were also allegedly prepared to show the appointment of 23 sub-distributors.
EIGHT PEOPLE NAMED IN FIR
The eight people named as accused in the FIR include senior officials of both FCI and NERAMAC, as well as representatives of the private entities involved in the alleged distribution chain.
They include Kunhiraman Padmini Asha, then General Manager of FCI Delhi Region; Brahm Prakash, then AGM (Sales) at the FCI Delhi Region; and Amarendra Vikram, then Manager (Sales) at the FCI Delhi Region. From NERAMAC, the accused include then Managing Director Bhaskar Barua, then Additional General Manager Anjal Kumar Dutta and then Deputy Manager (Agri-Business) Dilip Saha.
The FIR also names Rajesh Bajaj, Director of Utapalakshi Agro Products and Dibesh Commercials, and Pankaj Saraf, partner of Super Grains. The agency has also named unknown public servants and other unknown persons in connection with the alleged conspiracy.
HOW THE RACKET UNFOLDED
According to the CBI, NERAMAC Additional General Manager Anjal Kumar Dutta initially sought an allocation of 31,000 MT of rice per week from the Delhi government. The proposal reportedly said the rice would be sold at affordable rates to vulnerable sections of society. The Delhi government subsequently forwarded the proposal to the FCI.
The CBI alleges that NERAMAC then entered into memorandums of understanding with three private entities as channel partners. The MoUs allegedly claimed that NERAMAC had authority to procure and distribute rice under the OMSS(D).
However, the FIR says the FCI had not provided such authorisation.
The agency alleges that the arrangement ultimately resulted in thousands of tonnes of subsidised rice being routed through private traders instead of being distributed to the beneficiaries identified in the proposal. The allegations are part of the CBI’s FIR and will be subject to investigation and further legal proceedings.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
