The controversy surrounding the alleged scam involving government wheat stored by departmental officials at a private rice mill on Sherpur Road in the Jagraon area, under the Western Circle of the Food and Supply Department, shows no signs of abating. Complainant Arvind Sharma has leveled serious allegations against the department’s Controller, Sartaj Singh Cheema, accusing him of giving a clean chit to AFSO Beant Singh through a pre-planned conspiracy, using lower-level employees as scapegoats.
Arvind Sharma has raised the issue with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the Director of the Vigilance Bureau, demanding an investigation into the scam by senior officials of the Vigilance Department. He alleges that Controller Sartaj Singh Cheema of the Food and Supply Department is employing a devious strategy to protect AFSO Beant Singh from the repercussions of the multi-crore rupee scam, by charging only wheat godown in-charge Jaspal Singh, along with Rajiv Tiwari and Harjit Singh. This, he says, is unacceptable under any circumstances, as this scam directly impacts the rights and health of the general public.
He stated that the rice mill where crores of rupees worth of government wheat was stored falls under the supervision of AFSO Beant Singh. Therefore, it was Beant Singh’s duty and responsibility to conduct periodic checks of the stored wheat, which he completely failed to do. He added that Beant Singh’s significant complicity in this entire episode cannot be ignored. In this situation, Controller Sartaj Singh Cheema should have fixed responsibility on the AFSO in the grain scam case and taken strong administrative action against him, which he deliberately failed to do.
Complainant Arvind Sharma claims to have sent complaint letters regarding the grain scam to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the Chief Secretary of Punjab, and the Director of the Vigilance Bureau, demanding a high-level inquiry into the matter so that all the officers and employees found guilty can receive appropriate departmental and legal punishment.
