Chhattisgarh: ED makes fresh arrest in ricing milling ‘scam’ case

New Delhi, May 16 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it made a fresh arrest in the alleged Rs 175 crore Chhattisgarh rice milling scam case after taking into custody a former treasurer of the state rice millers association.

Roshan Chandrakar, himself a rice miller based at Kurud in Dhamtari district, was arrested on Wednesday.

“He was treasurer of the state rice millers association during the Kharif marketing Season 2021-22. During this tenure, an organised system of collection of illegal kickbacks from the rice millers was being operated,” the central agency alleged in a statement.

Last month, the ED had arrested Manoj Soni, a former Chhattisgarh MARKFED managing director, in this case.

The money laundering case stems from an Income-tax department charge sheet where it was alleged that the office bearers of Chhattisgarh rice millers association “colluded” with officers of the state marketing federation Ltd (MARKFED) and hatched a “conspiracy” to misuse a special incentive and earn kickbacks worth crores of rupees.

Till Kharif year 2021-22, it said, a special incentive of Rs 40 per quintal of paddy was paid by the state government to the rice millers for custom milling of paddy and this amount was “exorbitantly” increased to Rs 120 per quintal of paddy which was paid in two instalments of Rs 60 each, the agency said.

The office bearers of Chhattisgarh state rice millers association under the leadership of its treasurer Chandrakar “started collecting kickbacks” amounting to Rs 20 per instalment for each quintal of paddy milled from the rice millers, the ED claimed.

The details of rice millers who have paid the cash amounts were sent by the district rice millers association to the district marketing officer (DMO) concerned, it said.

“The DMOs, upon receiving the bills of rice millers, cross-checked with the details received from the concerned district rice millers association and this information was then passed on to the head office of MARKFED.”

“The bills of only those rice millers who have paid cash to the association were cleared by MD, MARKFED for payment,” it said.

The ED said the district rice millers’ associations used to collect the ” kickback” amounts from the rice millers and deliver them to Chandrakar or his people.

After the increase in the special incentive from Rs 40 to Rs 120 per quintal, “kickbacks” in excess of Rs 100 crore were generated which were orchestrated and facilitated by Chandrakar.