05 June 2004	Saturday	16 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

SARGODHA, June 4: The district food department has become a hub of corruption, as the officials allegedly try to make personal gains without any check.

In a surprising incident, an inspector of the department has allegedly kept for personal use 260 bags of wheat he had taken into possession from Liaquat Ali.

According to reports, Liaquat was carrying the wheat bags from Sargodha to Kotmomin in a truck when the inspector seized the entire crop. A case was registered against the man and he was later sent behind bars.

The inspector claimed that he had stored the wheat in the food department's godown, but the district food controller checked the bags and found those filled with husk and dust. Liaquat's associates, including Muhammad Husain, alleged that the inspector had stolen the wheat.

The officials of the department are allegedly procuring wheat on behalf of the government, but are selling it in the open market. Meanwhile, farmers claim that overcharging at the procurement centres is going on without any check.

They have demanded of the higher authorities to take stock of the situation and save them from the raw deal of the department. When contacted, inspector Shaukat Baloch told this correspondent that he was being implicated because he had refused to bow before the black sheep in the department.