Odisha government today placed two Supply department officers under suspension on charge of dereliction in duty while handing the alleged PDS rice scam in Jharsuguda district, official sources said.
The officers who have been suspended were identified as Jharsuguda Civil Supplies Officer (CSO) P D M Khosla and Assistant Civil Supplies Officer (ACSO) S K Guru for their alleged involvement in PDS rice scam.
The State Food Commissioner as per the direction of the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited (OSCSC) suspended the two government officials for negligence and alleged connivance in misappropriation of Rs 8 crore in the name of Bajrangbali Rice Mill Pandaripathar here.
The OSCSC had earlier ordered for a special audit of the rice mills accounts after irregularities were detected in the supply of rice.
Bajrangbali Rice Mill had received 79,388 quintals of paddy in 2016-17 fiscal. Though the mill was supposed to provide 53,984 quintals of rice for the PDS, the Food Supplies Department had only received 19,409 quintals.
The rice mill was locked up in a bid to evade return of rice to the PDS. The irregularity resulted in loss of around Rs 8 crore to the OSCSC.
This apart, the rice mill owner had also submitted a fake bank guarantee of Rs 1.1 crore, an official release said.
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