The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked eight individuals, together with senior officers of the Meals Company of India (FCI) and North Jap Regional Agricultural Advertising and marketing Company Ltd (NERAMAC), over an alleged Rs 28.87 crore rice diversion racket involving the distribution of subsidised grain.
In accordance with an FIR registered on August 27, the company has alleged a prison conspiracy between public servants and personal merchants to acquire rice at concessional charges in violation of the federal government’s Open Market Sale Scheme (Home), or OMSS(D). The alleged association might have prompted a possible lack of Rs 28.87 crore to the FCI, the company mentioned.
The case centres on the allocation of 62,000 metric tonnes (MT) of rice by the FCI’s Delhi Area to NERAMAC between April 13 and Could 15, 2026. Of this amount, round 50,645 MT was truly launched, in keeping with the FIR. The CBI alleges that the rice was lifted from FCI depots by merchants as a substitute of reaching the weak teams for whom the subsidised grain was purportedly supposed. The merchants allegedly offered the rice onwards to different merchants for “large earnings”.
Rs 28.87 CRORE ALLEGED LOSS TO FCI
The alleged monetary loss kinds a central a part of the CBI’s case. The company estimates that the FCI might have earned an extra Rs 28.87 crore if roughly 50,645 MT of rice had been offered by e-auction on the relevant reserve worth of Rs 28,900 per MT, as a substitute of being launched on the concessional charge of Rs 23,200 per MT.
The FIR additionally raises questions over NERAMAC’s eligibility to obtain rice with out an e-auction below the OMSS(D) 2025-26 coverage. In accordance with the CBI, NERAMAC, regardless of being a Central government-owned enterprise, was not eligible for such an allocation. The company mentioned the coverage permitted allocations with out e-auction to state governments and their companies.
Regardless of this, FCI’s Delhi Area allegedly continued processing and approving NERAMAC’s proposal. The FIR names then FCI Delhi Area Common Supervisor Kunhiraman Padmini Asha, then AGM (Gross sales) Brahm Prakash after which Supervisor (Gross sales) Amarendra Vikram.
The CBI alleges that the officers dealt with the proposal with “undue haste” and did not correctly study whether or not the allocation complied with the OMSS(D) coverage. It additional alleges that the Common Supervisor continued approving the allocation and launch of rice regardless of the alleged violation.
NERAMAC allegedly appointed three personal entities — Utapalakshi Agro Merchandise Pvt Ltd, Dibesh Commercials Pvt Ltd and Tremendous Grains — as channel companions. The company alleges that Rajesh Bajaj and Pankaj Saraf subsequently approached merchants within the Delhi-NCR area and facilitated the lifting of rice from FCI depots.
In accordance with the FIR, merchants deposited Rs 23.25 per kg into NERAMAC’s checking account, whereas the personal entities allegedly obtained commissions starting from 64 paise to Rs 2.50 per kg.
The CBI alleges that the rice was subsequently diverted from its acknowledged beneficiaries, together with every day wage earners, labourers and migrant staff. As an alternative, it was lifted from FCI depots at Ghevra, Mayapuri and Narela and offered to different merchants for “large earnings”. The company additional alleges that bogus date-wise charts had been maintained in NERAMAC data to create the looks that the rice had been distributed by shops in Delhi and Noida. Antedated appointment letters had been additionally allegedly ready to indicate the appointment of 23 sub-distributors.
EIGHT PEOPLE NAMED IN FIR
The eight individuals named as accused within the FIR embody senior officers of each FCI and NERAMAC, in addition to representatives of the personal entities concerned within the alleged distribution chain.
They embody Kunhiraman Padmini Asha, then Common Supervisor of FCI Delhi Area; Brahm Prakash, then AGM (Gross sales) on the FCI Delhi Area; and Amarendra Vikram, then Supervisor (Gross sales) on the FCI Delhi Area. From NERAMAC, the accused embody then Managing Director Bhaskar Barua, then Extra Common Supervisor Anjal Kumar Dutta after which Deputy Supervisor (Agri-Enterprise) Dilip Saha.
The FIR additionally names Rajesh Bajaj, Director of Utapalakshi Agro Merchandise and Dibesh Commercials, and Pankaj Saraf, companion of Tremendous Grains. The company has additionally named unknown public servants and different unknown individuals in reference to the alleged conspiracy.
HOW THE RACKET UNFOLDED
In accordance with the CBI, NERAMAC Extra Common Supervisor Anjal Kumar Dutta initially sought an allocation of 31,000 MT of rice per week from the Delhi authorities. The proposal reportedly mentioned the rice could be offered at inexpensive charges to weak sections of society. The Delhi authorities subsequently forwarded the proposal to the FCI.
The CBI alleges that NERAMAC then entered into memorandums of understanding with three personal entities as channel companions. The MoUs allegedly claimed that NERAMAC had authority to obtain and distribute rice below the OMSS(D).
Nonetheless, the FIR says the FCI had not offered such authorisation.
The company alleges that the association in the end resulted in 1000’s of tonnes of subsidised rice being routed by personal merchants as a substitute of being distributed to the beneficiaries recognized within the proposal. The allegations are a part of the CBI’s FIR and will probably be topic to investigation and additional authorized proceedings.
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