The Rajasthan’s Anti-Corruption Bureau has lodged an FIR into what it said is a Rs 2,000 crore scam involving supply of food grains to school students during the Covid pandemic. Twenty-one people have been booked in the case.
ACB official Thursday said that during the Covid-19 pandemic, combo packs containing pulses, oil, spices, etc. were supplied through the Rajasthan State Co-operative Consumers’ Federation Limited, better known as CONFED. These packs were supplied so as to provide food grains to school students under the State Mid Day Meal Scheme run by the state government. The said material was claimed to be in accordance with FSSAI and Agmark standards and had to be delivered doorstep to the schools of the state.
However, there were complaints of massive irregularities and corruption in the implementation of this scheme, leading the Anti-Corruption Bureau to register an FIR.
Preliminary investigations by the ACB revealed that officials associated with the Mid Day Meal scheme and CONFED colluded to manipulate the rules.
As a result, eligible and qualified firms were excluded from the tender process, and tenders were awarded to favoured firms, giving them unfair advantages. These firms then illegally sublet the contracts to other entities, through which an organised network of fake suppliers and transporters was established.
The investigation also revealed that in many cases, fake invoices were submitted at inflated rates, without actually purchasing or supplying the goods, and government payments were received based on them. “This systematic fraud, forgery, and collusion resulted in serious financial loss to the state exchequer, estimated at approximately Rs 2,000 crore,” the ACB said.
The ACB FIR has been lodged against CONFED officials, which include Sanvatram, Assistant Accounts Officer; Rajendra, Manager (Civil Supplies); Lokesh Kumar Bapna, Manager Civil Supplies; Pratibha Saini, Assistant Manager; Yogendra Sharma, Manager (Projects); Rajendra Singh Shekhawat, Manager; Ramdhan Bairwa, Godown Keeper, Marketing Section; Dinesh Kumar Sharma, Supervisor, Marketing Section.
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Others include Central Store employees Shailesh Saxena, Regional Manager; B C Joshi, Deputy Manager; and Chandan Singh, Assistant Manager.
Additionally, Messrs Tirupati Suppliers, Messrs Jagrut Enterprises, Messrs MT Enterprises, Proprietor of Messrs Sai Trading, and individuals Kanwaljit Singh Ranawat, Madhur Yadav, Tribhuvan Yadav, Satish Mulchand Vyas, Deepak Vyas, and Ritesh Yadav, among others, have also been named in the ACB FIR.
ACB officials said that they’re conducting a “thorough” investigation into the role of the accused in the case, including financial transactions, forgery of documents, and misuse of government funds. “Collection of evidence, review of records, and other necessary investigative procedures are ongoing and strict legal action will be taken against those found guilty,” ACB officials said.
