GUJRAT: The food department may cancel the wheat quota of at least eight flour mills of Lahore found involved in selling the subsidised flour to a Lalamusa trader.

At least 3,000 bags of subsidised wheat flour were found in the godown of Irtaza Bhatti on Monday. Official sources said the secretary of the Punjab Food Department spoke to Gujrat Deputy Commissioner Safdar Virk and Kharian Assistant Commissioner Sajid Muneer Kalyaar on Tuesday and got details of the flour mills of Lahore allegedly involved in selling the subsidised flour to Bhatti.

The initial inquiry report submitted by AC Kalyaar to Gujrat DC had revealed that Irtaza Bhatti had confessed to purchasing the flour bags of 10kg each through a broker, Khurram Shahzad alias Falak Sher, from eight flour mills of Lahore. The names of all these flour mills had been sent to Lahore DC and secretary food as per the findings of the inquiry report for further action.

It is learnt Bhatti might be booked under Section 16 of Maintenance of Public Order while he had already been imposed a Rs500,000 fine. The inquiry report also revealed that Irtaza Bhatti had long been involved in the illegal business of selling the subsidised flour on commercial rates in the local market.

It added that Waqar Flour Mills and Good Luck Flour Mills, Raiwind, Aitmad Flour Mills, Saggian Bridge, Al Mukhtar Flour Mills Industrial Area, Rasheed Flour Mills, Raiwind Road, Bano Flour Mills, Hajveri Flour Mills, Multan Road and Sufi Wheat Products Lahore were found involved in the scam.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2023