Rs 1.35-crore wheat scam unearthed in MP procurement centre, 10 booked

Jabalpur: Police registered an FIR against 10 persons in connection with an alleged Rs 1.35-crore wheat procurement scam at a purchase centre in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur district, where over 5,100 quintals of wheat were found missing during physical verification after the procurement season.The alleged irregularities surfaced at a wheat procurement centre operated by Bhumi Gram Sangathan at Maa Annapurna Warehouse in Pipariya Tagar under Majholi block for the 2026-27 rabi procurement season. According to officials, a verification exercise conducted after completion of procurement found a shortage of 5,168.70 quintals of wheat, valued at over Rs 1.35 crore at the minimum support price, or MSP.An administrative probe conducted by revenue and supply department officials reportedly flagged several irregularities, including fake procurement entries, suspected bogus entries of gunny bags, irregular purchases in farmers’ names, discrepancies in records and alleged illegal recovery of money from farmers in the name of weighing, filling and stitching charges.Officials also found that signatures of several farmers were missing from records, some entries were incomplete and procurement was allegedly shown through the surveyor app even for farmers whose produce never reached the centre.Based on the inquiry report, police booked 10 persons, including procurement centre-linked staff and officials associated with the process. Those named in the FIR include nodal officer Pramod Kumar Mishra and NRLM block manager Prakash Narayan Pandey, apart from several others allegedly linked to procurement operations.Officials said CCTV footage from the procurement centre and warehouse, along with procurement records and other documents, is being examined as part of the ongoing investigation. Sources said the administration is also analysing procurement data to ascertain whether more irregularities took place during the procurement process.Further action may follow if additional discrepancies emerge during the probe, officials said.