The Tribune: Amritsar: Sunday, August 27, 2017.
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| RTI activist Varun Sareen addresses mediapersons in Amritsar on Saturday. Photo: Sunil Kumar |
High drama
was witnessed yesterday evening when inspectors of the Food and Civil Supply
Department had a brawl with RTI activist Varun Sareen after he informed Deputy
Commissioner (DC) Kamaldeep Singh Sangha and police authorities about unloading
of wheat from a truck at around 9.30 pm, claiming it was against the policy.
He lodged a
complaint with the secretary of the department besides the DC and DCP Amrik
Singh Pawar.
In his
complaint, he accused the food inspectors of being drunk and using abusive
language besides trying to manhandle him in the presence of cops, who had
reached the spot to investigate the issue of unloading of government wheat
during late hours.
“I was going
towards Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Gurudwara when I noticed a truck unloading the
government wheat on horse carts. As it was very late in the evening, I informed
the DC and police. A team of Division C police reached the spot for
verification. Meanwhile, several food inspectors turned up and started using
abusive language. Had the media and the police not been present, they would
have manhandled me,” he alleged.
It is worth
mentioning here that Sareen had recently exposed wheat “bungling” in the
Cantonment area when 600 wheat bags were seized. Probe into the case is
underway.
“Is it wrong
to inform the district administration and the police if I come across an
unlawful activity?” he questioned, adding that he feared for his and his
family’s security.
Meanwhile,
the Food Supply Inspectors’ Welfare Association has rubbished the charges. They
said Sareen was a habitual complainant and accused him of blackmailing them.
The association also threatened to stop the distribution of ration under the
Atta-Dal scheme to depot holders.
Gagandeep
Singh, president of the association, said Sareen had been filing “bogus”
complaints. He said a food inspector had to do different works from get the
wheat loaded from government silos till the distribution. Sometimes, he gets
late at a point and therefore a delay takes place in the delivery of wheat to
other designated depot holders.
“We will
submit a memorandum to the DC and other officials of the department that we
will not distribute the ration till some concrete action is taken against Varun
Sareen,” he added.
Food
inspectors want action against Sareen
- RTI activist Varun Sareen claims to have filed several complaints with the police and Food and Civil Supply Department over “irregular” practices by food inspectors.
- He informed the police and the DC about unloading of wheat late on Friday evening. Recently, he exposed wheat “bungling” when around 600 bags of grains were seized. A probe is underway.
- However, food inspectors maintain that the RTI activist has been blackmailing them for long.
- Members of the Food Supply Inspectors’ Welfare Association threaten to stop the distribution of grains under Atta-Dal scheme if action is not taken against the RTI activist.
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