Nearly three years after the Rs6-crore paddy procurement scam came to light in Fatehabad district, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has made key arrests, marking a breakthrough in the high-profile agricultural fraud.
The arrested accused — Balihar Singh (Ratia), Kewal Singh (Nanheri), and Bhupinder Singh (Burj) — were taken into custody for fraudulently using land records, Aadhaar numbers, and bank accounts of unsuspecting individuals to register fake paddy crops under the “Meri Fasal Mera Byora” scheme during the 2020 Kharif season.
Inspector Sandeep, in charge of the EOW, explained that the accused exploited the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system by falsely registering plots as paddy fields and selling cheaper or out-of-state paddy as local produce.
“Verification showed several plots had kinnow orchards or were uncultivated. Yet, paddy was sold to government agencies at MSP using these records,” he stated.
In collaboration with insiders from various departments, including the Food and Supplies Department, Market Committees, and the Haryana State Warehousing Corporation, the accused reportedly manipulated land and crop data to defraud the government.
The scam was exposed after landowners from Sirsa, Fatehabad, and Jind discovered illegal use of their land details. Their complaints triggered an investigation by the Chief Minister’s Flying Squad.
The FIR, registered in 2022 based on a complaint by Rajesh Kumar (CM’s Flying Squad), names 26 individuals, including rice mill owners and private operators, under IPC Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 409, and 120-B.
While Bhupinder Singh has been sent to judicial custody, Balihar and Kewal remain under police remand. During interrogation, the police recovered Rs2 lakh from Balihar and Rs5 lakh from Kewal, which has been seized as part of the investigation.
Superintendent of Police Siddhant Jain confirmed ongoing efforts to trace the money trail using bank records, mobile phone data, and documents.
