ED registers 11 cases in Uttar Pradesh food scam

The Enforcement Directorate has registered 11 cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in connection with an alleged multi-crore foodgrain scam in Uttar Pradesh.

"The ED has lodged 11 separate FIRs under the Money Laundering Act in connection with multi-crore foodgrain scam spread over several districts of the state," official sources said here.

The ED has taken up cases which were investigated by the special investigation team constituted by the state government to probe the foodgrain scam.

"A number of officers and staff of food and civil supplies department, contractors, whole sellers and transporters have been named in the FIRs," the sources said.

The CBI had informed the High Court, which ordered the agency to probe the cases, about embezzlement to the tune of several crore of rupees.

The cases registered by the ED related to the alleged foodgrains scam reported between 2005-06 from Varanasi, Allahabad, Lucknow, Hardoi, Gonda, Deoria, Shahjhanpur, Lalitpur, Basti, Sant Ravidas Nagar and Sant Kabir Nagar.

After detecting large-scale bungling in the supply of foodgrain under various schemes like BPL, Antodaya, Sampurna Gramin Swarojgar, the state government had ordered a probe by the Economic Offences Wing in 2006.

As investigations revealed that foodgrain meant for poor was smuggled to Bangladesh, the government recommended a CBI inquiry in the case.

However, the CBI later took up some cases on the directives of the HC.