Stepping up the investigation into the multi-crore paddy procurement scam, the Karnal police have arrested another key suspect, identifying him as a miller-cum-arhtiya allegedly involved in a sophisticated “ghost procurement” racket. The accused, Devinder Singh, who runs a commission agent shop in the Karnal grain market, was taken into custody on Thursday for his role in generating fake gate passes and facilitating illegal entries.
According to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Rajiv Kumar, who is heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT), the preliminary probe suggests that Devinder Singh was part of a larger nexus comprising officials, millers, and agents. The network allegedly defrauded the state exchequer by creating bogus records of paddy arrivals that never physically reached the mandis. “We have arrested miller-cum-arhtiya Devinder Singh, and he will be produced in the court on Friday where we will seek his remand to determine the involvement of others,” DSP Kumar stated.
The investigation has so far brought seven individuals under the scanner, including officials from the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB) and various procurement agencies. The police have registered cases under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including 318(4), 338, 336(3), 340(2), and 316(5), for irregularities involving non-existent paddy stocks. The scam initially surfaced during a physical verification drive, which revealed that large quantities of paddy shown in official records were missing from the mills.
This arrest follows a series of earlier actions where former Karnal Market Committee secretary Asha Rani and auction recorder Yashpal were suspended. Other accused, including suspended mandi supervisor Pankaj Tuli (who later died in judicial custody), Ankit, Ankush, and arhtiya Naresh Garg, have already been arrested. Superintendent of Police Narender Bijarniya has adopted a tough stance, asserting that the police are investigating all six registered FIRs from every angle and that no one involved in the fraud will be spared.
