The CBI launched searches at 30 locations in Punjab on Tuesday as part of its investigation into allegations of corruption against Food Corporation of India (FCI) officials who procured inferior grains to benefit merchants and rice millers, according to officials.
As part of "Operation Kanak 2," the CBI teams allegedly began coordinating raids on the residences of grain traders, owners of rice mills, and active and former FCI personnel in numerous districts of Punjab, including Fatehgarh Sahib and Moga.
This is the second round of searches in the FIR pertaining to an organized syndicate of FCI officers who allegedly demanded bribes from private millers of Rs 1,000–4,000 per truck unloaded at the FCI godowns per crop season in exchange for other favors and the concealment of subpar grains supplied by them.
It said that the bribes were distributed to the officers at each level in clearly defined percentage cuts. Details about this bribe collection at numerous FCI depots across Punjab were provided in the FIR.