After an investigation conducted by a special team of Civil Supplies officials and Commercial Tax staff into the alleged 105-quintal PDS wheat diversion to a private flour mill in Ralaba village in Ganjam district, Aska division Procurement Officer Arabinda Kothari was suspended on Saturday for dereliction in duty. Based on the report of the team, a level-1 contractor Maheswar Parida has also been blacklisted. The team after examining all documents related to stock of wheat in the mill recommended the administration to take legal action against the mill owner.
Notably, the district administration after getting a reliable tip-off conducted a surprise raid on the Milan flour mill on May 27 and unearthed the wheat diversion fiasco. During the process, the team had also unearthed another 500 quintals of PDS grains in the mill godown.