PANAJI
As the Crime Branch (CB) is investigating one of the biggest scams of 2022 involving the State-run Public Distribution System, the officers are trying to ascertain the modus operandi adopted by Sachin Naik Borkar to siphon off a huge stock of food grains by misappropriating the challans.
According to police sources, the mastermind’s custodial interrogation will also shed some light on the total gunny bags of wheat and rice he lifted from the Fair Price Shops (FPS) where the monthly requirement was lowest.
“Borkar had zeroed in on FPS that required only a certain quantity of food grains per month. The requirement was fixed while the additional stock was stored in the government warehouse. Borkar lured these FPS operators by paying them a slightly higher price towards these food grains, and took over the challans to keep the illegality under wraps,” the source said.
It is further learnt that instead of returning the excess stock to the Food Corporation of India’s main godown in Sada, it was transported across the border where each gunny bag was sold at a significantly higher price.
While Borkar’s custody is crucial to unearth the mega scam, the FPS operators who allegedly concealed the information with the concerned officers, have now come under scrutiny. “Borkar’s interrogation will further expose the nexus,” an officer said.
The CB has not been able to get a breakthrough after the back-to-back raids in Ponda town last month. Borkar and the driver of the truck, which was seized with the allegedly stolen food grain bags, Virendra Mardolkar are still at large. Their anticipatory bail applications were heard by the local court on Wednesday and adjourned for a final order on December 2.
Meanwhile, the 1,014 bags of wheat and rice recovered in the raids have been handed over to the District Collector of South Goa for appropriate action.
